FE Report
International Labour Organisation (ILO) Director-General Guy Ryder said Rana Plaza collapse is a call for global action on decent working conditions.
He said this at a high-level meeting in Copenhagen on garment and textiles production in Bangladesh, according to an ILO press statement on Thursday.
The Rana Plaza building collapse in April 2013 claimed the lives of over 1,100 factory workers and injured many more.
"We cannot wait for future disasters before we act to make the worlds' factories and workplaces safe and decent," said Ryder at the event - Post Rana Plaza: a Vision for the Future - organized by the Government of Denmark in Copenhagen.
Ryder highlighted the actions taken with the Government of Bangladesh and employers' and workers' organisations, including building and fire safety assessments, labour inspections, and occupational safety and health, rehabilitation and skills training for survivors.
These and other responses were agreed in the Bangladesh National Tripartite Plan of Action (NTPA), in support of which ILO is implementing a US$24.2 million, three-and-a-half year programme in the country.
Ryder also drew attention to the complementary work of international initiatives, including the Accord, between more than 150 international brands and retailers with suppliers in Bangladesh, and global unions IndustriALL and UNI Global.
ILO is the neutral chair of the Accord, which covers 1,639 of the 3,498 Bangladesh factories, making garments for export.
International coordination was essential, Ryder said, when supply chains in 21st century industry spread across the globe.
"We need to ensure that global supply chains perform safely and in line with internationally respected rights, so that goods, wherever produced, are made in conditions of decent work," he said.
