Uncertainty shrouding the country's readymade garment (RMG) industry is far from over. Although exports have demonstrated strong resilience despite many odds during the last one and a half years, it now seems that the threats looming over the sector are getting increasingly complex.
While the Tazreen and Rana plaza tragedies have brought to spotlight issues unaddressed for long, steps initiated by the government and other stakeholders do not appear to be visible enough to satisfy the governments of the major export destinations -- the European Union (EU) and the USA.
In a statement, the day after the first anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht mentioned that although significant progress has been achieved during the past months in a number of areas, further progress 'on labour issues is important for Bangladesh's continued preferential access to the EU market.' So, it is the preferential trade facility that remains integrally tagged to the progress of work in sight. The statement said, the EU remains ready to assist Bangladesh with its reforms and monitor the implementation of the Sustainability Compact - an initiative launched by the EU, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the government of Bangladesh that outlines concrete commitments regarding improved levels of occupational safety and greater assertion of worker's rights.
This goes to explain that whatever the levels of progress so far, the EU would wait to assess the state of things in terms of the Compact. Understandably, such assessment would take stock of works done in respect of a whole range of activities including fire, electrical and building safety of all RMG factories in the country, improvement in worker rights situation, improvement in institutional mechanism for monitoring fire and building safety and workers' rights. These being the broad outlines, materialising them through enactment of laws, formulation of rules, recruitment of suitable manpower, evolving effective monitoring device etc., calls for a high level of integrated effort over a reasonable period of time.
It is not the EU Compact alone that Bangladesh has to conform to as a measure of its actions with regard to factory safety and worker's rights. Along with the Compact, comes in the US Action Plan that stipulates implementation of a total 16 action programmes by the government as precondition to regaining US GSP (generalised system of preferences), suspended since June 2013. While the EU Trade Commissioner has spoken of significant progress achieved so far and looks forward to seeing more in concrete and substantial terms, the US remains stiff in not recognising the actions initiated or completed as attesting to attainment of any concrete results.
Two US congressmen Sander M Levin and George Miller have written to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressing dissatisfaction over Bangladesh's actions to implement the US-prescribed roadmap. The letter, sent a couple of days prior to the EU Trade Commissioner's statement, called for improving working conditions in factories. 'We believe it is critical for the government of Bangladesh to take stronger steps to fully implement the action plan that was issued as a roadmap for reinstating trade benefits, which were suspended in June 2013 under the Generalised System of Preferences programme,' the letter said.
The Congressmen in their letter took note of the increased number of registration of trade unions (in all 141 in last one year) in the garment sector, but expressed concern at what they mentioned as 'harassment, mass firings, threats, and violence' that the new union members are facing from factory authorities. Their letter also points out, citing specific charges of alleged harassment of labour leaders, that the government's initiative to improve worker's rights is not going well with the actual state of affairs.
The letter also refers to what it implies as less than transparent judicial proceedings regarding the trial of a labour leader, lack of conformity of EPZ (export processing zone) laws with international practices, inadequate information in the factory database etc. Concrete steps in these areas as well as full implementation of the Action Plan, they said, "will allow us to support the reinstatement of GSP benefits."
Too strong a statement, indeed. One need not be a cynic to stay away from hoping to regain US GSP right now, given the near impossibility of fulfilling the Action Plan in the immediate future. Completion of the works, mammoth as these are, can not be expected in as brief a time as months. All that the government is left to do now is present the status of the works initiated and those in the pipeline. In its submission sent to the USTR (United States Trade Representative) on April 15, the government is learnt to have followed this line. Chances that the US will be convinced do not look bright at this stage. The Congressmen's letter may well serve as a clear hint.
Meanwhile, the compensation issue has sparked a strong blip that many believe will complicate the prevailing situation. ILO Deputy Director General Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo expressed his frustration over the slow progress of the compensation process for Rana Plaza victims as the fund falls far short of target even after passage of a whole year. Conflicting reports about the criterion and methodology of compensating the victims suggest that the matter is still in disarray. There are also criticisms about the delayed distribution of donations deposited with the PM's Office as relief for the victims of Rana Plaza. Since the money -- said to be more than one billion in taka -- was meant for the victims, right activists do not find any justification for holding the money for so long.
Things look bad. The government is under serious pressure to ride out the crisis. All it needs to do is remain thoroughly engaged, more than it ever had been. Works unattended should be completed for the sake of the industry and not because importing countries want these done. As for the EU and the US, will they insist more on their terms and conditions with the government, which public perception suggests not poised in the best of shape? Will the fate of an expanding industry left to the politics of correct or incorrect relations?
wasiahmed.bd@hotmail.com
RMG: Remaining engaged is all
Wasi Ahmed | Published: April 29, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2025 06:01:00
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