The government is set to inform the European Union (EU) about the progress in respect of promises that it had made at the Geneva meeting held in July last in order to retain the generalised system of preferences (GSP) facility in the EU markets, sources said.
During the meeting, the Bangladesh government and the EU had agreed on a 'Sustainability Compact' aiming to improve labour standards and responsible business code of conduct in the ready-made garment (RMG) and knitwear industry in Bangladesh. The US also later joined the initiative.
The move came following the deadly incidents of Tazreen blaze and Rana Plaza building collapse that killed more than 1200 workers and injured scores of others that prompted widespread criticism both at home and abroad.
The representatives of the ministries of commerce, foreign and laobur will hold a meeting on February 20 by way of a video conference with their Brussels counterparts to brief them about the developments made in the garment sector as suggested by the Sustainability Compact, they added.
Commerce ministry sources said they had held a meeting three months ago after the signing of the Compact. The meeting is important because through this they can inform the EU from time to time about the improvements in the country's garment sector with a view to retaining the GSP benefit in the 27-nation bloc, they added.
The EU will observe the improvements made in the country's RMG industry. Any deviation from the EU instructions might result in the deprivation of the GSP benefit for the Bangladesh-made products, they added.
The Bangladesh side and EU committed to holding a follow-up meeting in mid-2014 to take stock of the progress made in the area of actions outlined in the Compact.
"The meeting will discuss the progress that has so far been made in the garment factories in terms of workplace safety, labour rights and standards, especially suggested by the Compact," Commerce He confirmed that the meeting through video conference would be held on February 20 next.
However, the EU, on many occasions, has said that it will 'review' the GSP benefit for Bangladesh if there is no or insufficient progress in the garment factories.
The EU reiterated that being a least-developed country, Bangladesh should not take its GSP status for granted. "It may not continue if the working environment and safety standards are not improved," it added.
Apparel makers, however, termed this year very crucial for the garment industry, saying the EU was likely to review its GSP status in June next.
"If there is no visible improvement as per the Compact, the EU might suspend the duty-free benefit for Bangladesh-made products which would be a disaster for the country's largest foreign currency earning sector," Fazlul Hoque, former president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said.
According to the Compact, along with other measures, Bangladesh committed amendment to the laobur law and its effective implementation, improvement in exercise of freedom of association, ensuring collective bargaining and application of the national labour law to the Export Processing Zones, upgrading the Department of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Establishment to a directorate with a strength of 800 inspectors and recruiting 200 additional inspectors by December last. The commitments included creating a publicly accessible database for reporting on labour, fire & building safety, and also carrying out a 'diagnostic' study of the labour inspection system by December, 2013.
The EU accounts for about 60 per cent of the country's total apparel exports. Bangladesh earned $12.56 billion from apparel exports to the EU out of its total apparel exports worth $21.51 billion in the fiscal year of 2012-`13.
