US team on labour review mission in Bangladesh
Doulot Akter Mala | Monday, 25 August 2008
A United States assessment mission is now visiting Bangladesh to review labour laws and rights situation in the country's main export-oriented manufacturing sectors, officials said Sunday.
A three-member team, led by a technical officer of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will investigate state of the country's labour and labour law environment, unions, labour-related government institutions and labour market.
The agency said the mission is part of its "assessment and gathering information and to have an overview" of the labour sector programmes in Bangladesh, particularly a review of American government-financed labour projects.
But local officials said the assessment, which is taking the team to almost all the export-oriented manufacturing sectors, could shape up the American government's future stand on Bangladesh's labour rights issues.
The United States is Bangladesh's largest market, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the country's US$14.11 billion export earnings in the 2007-8 financial year.
The world's largest economy has also been critical of Bangladesh's prevailing labour rights situation. Last month it urged the caretaker government to lift the ban on union activities, imposed since January last year under the emergency rules.
The team arrived last week and already held meetings with the country's leading garment and shrimp exporters and Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA).
It will sit with the top officials of commerce and labour ministries tomorrow (Tuesday) to learn about the government's effort to ensure labour rights and compliance situation in the export-oriented factories.
The three-member team also includes a labour lawyer and a political economist from the United States.
A Commerce ministry official said the US have become concerned about Bangladesh's labour rights situation in the wake of frequent workers unrest in the export-oriented ready-made garment sector.
"They are particularly concerned about the labour rights issues in the export-oriented plants in the export-processing zones (EPZs) and outside," said the official.
The government has allowed only limited labour union activities in its eight EPZs as it sees union activities a major hindrance to woo foreign investment in the country.
But bowing to intense pressure of the US government, which has threatened to bar exports from the country's EPZs, the previous government pledged that the workers right would be gradually restored in the zones.
Recently the office of the US-trade representative (USTR) brought up the issue during its meeting with the Bangladesh embassy in Washington D.C.
The USTR has asked the government to complete elections to workers associations in all factories in the EPZs and allow them to seek assistance and support from the US-based labour rights groups such as Solidarity Center.
A three-member team, led by a technical officer of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will investigate state of the country's labour and labour law environment, unions, labour-related government institutions and labour market.
The agency said the mission is part of its "assessment and gathering information and to have an overview" of the labour sector programmes in Bangladesh, particularly a review of American government-financed labour projects.
But local officials said the assessment, which is taking the team to almost all the export-oriented manufacturing sectors, could shape up the American government's future stand on Bangladesh's labour rights issues.
The United States is Bangladesh's largest market, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the country's US$14.11 billion export earnings in the 2007-8 financial year.
The world's largest economy has also been critical of Bangladesh's prevailing labour rights situation. Last month it urged the caretaker government to lift the ban on union activities, imposed since January last year under the emergency rules.
The team arrived last week and already held meetings with the country's leading garment and shrimp exporters and Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA).
It will sit with the top officials of commerce and labour ministries tomorrow (Tuesday) to learn about the government's effort to ensure labour rights and compliance situation in the export-oriented factories.
The three-member team also includes a labour lawyer and a political economist from the United States.
A Commerce ministry official said the US have become concerned about Bangladesh's labour rights situation in the wake of frequent workers unrest in the export-oriented ready-made garment sector.
"They are particularly concerned about the labour rights issues in the export-oriented plants in the export-processing zones (EPZs) and outside," said the official.
The government has allowed only limited labour union activities in its eight EPZs as it sees union activities a major hindrance to woo foreign investment in the country.
But bowing to intense pressure of the US government, which has threatened to bar exports from the country's EPZs, the previous government pledged that the workers right would be gradually restored in the zones.
Recently the office of the US-trade representative (USTR) brought up the issue during its meeting with the Bangladesh embassy in Washington D.C.
The USTR has asked the government to complete elections to workers associations in all factories in the EPZs and allow them to seek assistance and support from the US-based labour rights groups such as Solidarity Center.