Dhaka on Wednesday submitted its reply to the queries of the United States Trade Representative for retaining the Generalised System of Preferences in the US market with a promise to comply with labour rights and safety at factories. The government also assured the USTR to strengthen its monitoring of working conditions at factories, increasing the number of factory inspectors to 848 from the existing 183.
In the reply to the 19 queries of the USTR, the government also promised to improve vigilance against rights violations at factories, especially in the garment sector.
The government was considering massive restructuring of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments including setting up of new offices at the district levels leading to increase the number of factory inspectors, officials said.
At present, the DIFE, however, has 90 factory inspectors against 183 posts to monitor the working conditions at the workplaces.
The authorities concerned detailed the government’s existing inspection capacity in its reply to USTR, adding that the draft of Occupational Health and Safety Policy was at final stage which was scheduled to be placed before the cabinet by June 30 this year for approval.
This will be required as part of the post-hearing briefs on the review of Generalised System of Preferences or GSP by the USTR, the officials said.
On January 29 this year, Bangladesh put forward its request to the USTR for continuation of the GSP facility in the US market, since the country has taken initiatives to upgrade the garment units’ safety and ensure concerned rights.
The GSP facility covered only 0.54 per cent of Bangladesh’s exports to the USA worth $ 26 million against the total exports worth $ 4.91 billion to the US market during the financial year 2011-12.
In a reply to a USTR query, Dhaka said a total of 16 trade unions in the Readymade Garment sector were registered with the authorities concerned between January and March 2013.
‘This shows much improvement in the rate of trade union registration over the last five years as the number of applications for registration received during the period was in line with the requirements of application,’ the Bangladesh government claimed.
However, only four trade unions in the RMG sector were registered between 2009 and 2012.
The ministry concerned also said that the government was considering simplification of registration process.
Dhaka reportedly said in its reply that the authorities concerned had already established a special hotline service for the RMG sector by which workers can report about the ‘fire safety risks’ in their factories.
Among other queries on monitoring and legal enforcement regarding fire and safety issues in RMG sector, Dhaka said that 23 inspection teams had been formed by the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence after the fire incident in Tazreen Fashions Ltd.
Till March 2013, the DFSCD inspection teams served one-month notices on 243 out of 797 inspected factories for lack of fire safety facilities.
Mobile courts have so far taken legal action against 18 garment factories.
Dhaka, in its reply, denied the allegation of involvement of Mustafizur Rahman, the prime suspect of Aminul Islam murder, with intelligence agencies as the Criminal Investigation Department had so far not
found any evidence in this regard.
Aminul was an organiser of the US-based Workers’ Solidarity in Bangladesh who was allegedly killed in April 2012. Mustafiz has disappeared after the incident.
It has also denied the allegation made by the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations or AFL-CIO that workers’ welfare associations were not allowed to conduct collective bargaining effectively and to form federations.
Dhaka replied the other queries regarding the workers’ rights issues at Rebeka Fashions, Regency Garments and Southern Food Industries.
A Bangladesh delegation, led by Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed, appeared before the USTR on March 28 over the workers’ rights and their safety issues, following observations made by the AFL-CIO.
-With New Age input
