International Labour Organisation director-general Guy Ryder has called for action to avoid repetition of incidents like Rana Plaza tragedy. ‘Rana Plaza is a call for global action on decent working conditions,’ he said at a high-level meeting on Thursday in Copenhagen on garment and textiles production in Bangladesh. The Rana Plaza building collapse, in April 2013, claimed the lives of over 1,100 factory workers and injured many more.
The garment sector in Bangladesh plays a vital role in the country, making a major contribution to current GDP growth of 6 per cent and to significant poverty reduction in recent years, Ryder said.
‘The sector needs to be safer and more sustainable, while at the same time maintaining its role in supporting Bangladesh’s legitimate development aspirations, the ILO director-general said adding that better working conditions were in everyone’s interests, a safer industry did not mean a less profitable one.
‘We cannot wait for future disasters before we act to make the worlds’ factories and workplaces safe and decent places to work,’ said Ryder at the event, Post Rana Plaza: a Vision for the Future, organised by the Government of Denmark in Copenhagen, an ILO news release said.
The release said that Ryder also drew attention to the complementary work of international initiatives including the Accord between more than 150 international brands and retailers with suppliers in Bangladesh, and global unions IndustriALL and UNI Global.
The ILO is the neutral chair of the Accord, which covers 1,639 of the 3,498 Bangladesh factories making garments for export.
International coordination was essential, Ryder said, when supply chains in 21st century industry spread across the globe.
Work by the Rana Plaza Coordination Committee, set up by the Government of Bangladesh, employers’ and workers’ organisations, garment brands and NGOs to ensure compensation for Rana Plaza survivors and victim’s families is encouraging, he said.
However work needs to continue to increase momentum and ensure sufficient funds are raised through the Donors Trust Fund, Ryder added.
-With New Age input
