Bangladesh needs to do more to improve workplace safety and ensure workers' rights in line with the GSP Action Plan and Sustainability Compact, a recent special report of the US government says.
According to the report, progresses are being made in areas like amendments to the labour law, union registration, hiring of some inspectors, inspection of factories and website listing of garment factories.
"Despite these improvements, much work remains to be done to implement the GSP Action Plan and Sustainability Compact and improve workers' safety and respect for their rights."
The special report titled "Standing Up for Workers: Promoting Labour Rights through Trade" also said protecting the rights of workers around the world remains a top priority for the Obama administration.
It touched the details of the trade agreements with Guatemala, Bahrain, Colombia, Jordan and preference programmes with Bangladesh, Swaziland and Haiti, other efforts to promote labour rights in Burma and labour protections in future trade agreements.
In Bangladesh part, the report highlighted four areas as remaining challenges where further work needs to be done. "Bangladesh has not yet issued regulations implementing the July 2013 amendments to the Bangladesh Labour Act."
"The government of Bangladesh delays completing inspections and hiring additional inspectors," it said, adding that the US government recently reviewed progress on the GSP Action Plan and found that the government of Bangladesh was behind schedule in carrying out hundreds of critical safety inspections and in hiring additional inspectors.
While the government of Bangladesh has, for the first time, undertaken a number of investigations and prosecutions of unfair labour practices, it has been slow to offer protections for labour activists, particularly those organising unions, and labour law enforcement remains inadequate, the report noted.
Regarding labour reforms for export processing zones it said, "The US continues to press Bangladesh to pass other needed labour law reforms, including for export processing zones."
The US government has underscored that progress in these and other areas is critical to ensuring the safety of workers and their ability to exercise their fundamental rights to organise and collectively bargain.
Quoting the June 14, 2014 meeting, the report said: "US Trade Representative Froman met with Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed to urge the government of Bangladesh to take further actions pursuant to the Action Plan and Sustainability Compact."
"We remain committed to working with Bangladesh to address fully the outstanding concerns about workers' rights and their safety. Our interest, and that of our international partners, remains as strong today as it was in the aftermath of the terrible Tazreen and Rana Plaza tragedies," the report said. "The amendments included a number of improvements sought by the ILO, including permit to the operation of a better work factory monitoring programme in the garment sector, such as provisions to improve trade union registration procedures and expand access during collective bargaining to experienced negotiators."
The Compact for Continuous Improvements in Labour Rights and Factory Safety in the ready-made garment and knitwear industry in Bangladesh (Sustainability Compact) is a joint effort by the United States, European Union, International Labour Organisation and Bangladesh, developed in the wake of the Rana Plaza tragedy, to address workers' rights and worker safety concerns in the Bangladeshi garment sector.
The goals of the sustainability compact are broadly consistent with and complement, those in the action plan that the United States developed in connection with its GSP programme.
The report said: "The sustainability compact is an important public commitment by the government of Bangladesh to undertake specific reforms and actions-with support from the United States, European Union, and ILO-to improve respect for workers' rights and workplace safety."
The compact partners acknowledged improvements since the launch of the compact such as increased union registrations and authorisation for hiring of inspectors, the report added.
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