US buyers seek trade union rights for RMG workers

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Shafiqul Islam Jibon
In a breakfast meeting with local exporters Thursday, American buyers sought trade union rights for workers in their factories in Bangladesh. They also wanted to see a major improvement in Bangladesh's factory environment, especially in the garment sector, meeting sources said.
The high profile breakfast meeting with the American buyers took place at the city's Ruposhi Bangla hotel. A senior official of the Board of Investment (BoI), representatives from the BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Associa-tion), American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Bangladesh and the Leather Goods & Footwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB) took part in the meeting.
At least six reputed American buyers, who are mainly involved in apparel and footwear business were present at the breakfast meeting.
The recent worst ever fire at the Tazreen Fashions Limited and the safety issues of the workers at garment factories were the main topics of discussion at the meeting.
The American buyers urged the Bangladesh government and trade leaders to ensure workers' rights and safety including the trade union rights in factories.
"It was an informal discussion with the American buyers mainly on the safety issues of garments workers in Bangladesh," Executive Director of the AmCham Bangladesh A Gafur told the FE.
However, the American buyers endorsed US Ambassador Dan Mozena's suggestion on workers' trade union rights.
"To sustain the duty-free access under the GSP (Generalised System of Preference) facility in American markets Bangladesh needs to ensure the workers' trade union rights at their work places," sources said quoting the American buyers at the meeting.
They wanted the workers to be involved in collective bargaining issues with the government and the factory owners about their personal safety and other human rights, sources said.
The American buyers also talked about the business potential of Bangladesh. "But they want to see a better environment and comprehensive protection for workers at the factories," sources added.
However, Bangladesh has been pushing for duty-free access of goods to the US market. The Congressional Bangladesh Caucus in the US House of Representatives has been lobbying for this facility for Bangladesh.
The US government allows duty-free access of goods, especially readymade garments from the developing countries under the GSP facility.
Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of readymade garments after China and the apparel export fetches about 80 per cent of the country's total export earnings.