EU commissioner urges Bangladesh govt
European Union commissioner Laszlo Andor on Monday urged the Bangladesh government to formulate rules under the Labour Act to ensure effective implementation and enforcement of the amended labour law. The commissioner in a statement on a follow-up meeting of Bangladesh Sustainability Compact held in Brussels said after signing the agreement, Bangladesh had made encouraging progress but needed to advance further improvement in exercise of freedom of association, ensuring collective bargaining and equal rights for all workers, including those working in the Export Processing Zones.
‘Measures need to be taken urgently to ensure effective enforcement of the Bangladesh Labour Act,’ Andor said.
He demanded particular attention to ensuring better guarantees for freedom of association, protection of workers and trade unions from intimidation or discrimination.
Stressing on the recruitment of additional inspectors Andor said ‘inspection must continue.’
‘We need to ensure that victims of the collapse receive all the support necessary for their rehabilitation,’ the EU commissioner said.
A 12-member delegation led by commerce minister Tofail Ahmed attended the review meeting and presented the progress report the Bangladesh made under the Sustainability Compact in the last one year after the tragic Rana Plaza collapse on April 24 last year.
The progress report mentioned that the factory inspection programme was progressing and 2,061 factories had so far been inspected by three initiatives — Accord on Fire and Building Safety, Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and BUET, 236 trade unions had been registered in the RMG sector since January 2013 and the finalisation of the process of the recruitment of 200 additional factory inspectors in line with the Compact conditions.
‘There has been much progress since then: labour law has been amended to strengthen freedom of association, collective bargaining and occupational health and safety; new trade unions have been created; more labour, fire and building safety inspections have been carried out,’ Andor said.
He said to monitor the implementation and results of the Compact the next review meeting would be held next year.
‘I am convinced that, working together, we can achieve further progress by then,’ Andor said.
The European Commission is fully committed to protecting workers and making workplaces safer all over the world and to fulfil the goal the commission is cooperating with the ILO and partners to address existing shortcomings in occupational health and safety in the global supply chains, the EU commissioner added.
After the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed at least 1,137 people, mostly garment workers, the EU and Bangladesh government signed Compact on July 8 last year and later the US joined the initiative.
-With New Age input
