US ambassador in Bangladesh Dan Mozena Thursday advised the ready-made garments (RMG) makers, who are not willing to meet the international safety standards and labour rights, to shut their factories and quit business.
The US envoy also called upon Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) to ensure that all the factory owners become a part of the sector's transformation in order to help Bangladesh become global model for apparel production and export.
"Those owners who are unwilling to meet international safety and labour rights standards should 'close and leave' the sector," Mr Mozena said at the concluding session of the two-day training programme titled 'Bangladesh Labour Law (Focusing on the 2013 Amendment)' participated by 30 Bangladesh Department of Labour (DoL) officials. It was jointly organised by International Labour Organisation (ILO) and DoL in the capital.
The ambassador went on, "I think they (errant owners) have no right to make their profits by exploiting their workers," thus putting the entire sector at risk as inevitable future like the disasters of Tazreen Fashions and Rana Plaza that destroyed the 'Bangladesh Brand.'
The US ambassador, however, said some apparel unit owners were fully engaged in supporting transformation of their individual factories and of the sector overall.
The 30 officials, who attended the training proramme, examined the recent changes to labour laws in Bangladesh, which will promote workers' rights, and facilitate the registration of new trade unions.
Md Faizur Rahman, Joint Secretary, MoLE (Ministry of Labour and Employment), presided over the session, while BGMEA vice president Reaz-bin-Mahmood, among others, spoke.
The ambassador observed despite knowing that neglecting transformation of the sector will result in more Tazreen and Rana Plaza disasters, some factory owners are focused on maximising their profits, adding these owners would simply take their profits and shift elsewhere if the sector collapses in the future.
Without implementing regulations and procedures, the reforms will have little practical impact, and Bangladesh will fall short of lifting the nation's huge RMG sector to international standards, he noted.
Mr Mozena, however, reiterated that more remains to be done including hiring 200 new inspectors, establishing a comprehensive publicly accessible database, implementation of labour law, extension of Bangladesh Labour Act protections to the EPZs to restore the GSP.
ILO country director Srinivas Reddy said, "Significant progress is being made to improve workplace conditions and strengthen workers' rights as a result of changes made to labour laws in Bangladesh bolstering a sharp rise in the number of unions registering in 2013 in the RMG sector."
In 2013, 96 new trade unions in the RMG sector were registered with the DoL against only two trade unions during the previous two years. Presently, 222 unions in the RMG sector are registered with DoL in Bangladesh, he added.
Working conditions in the RMG sector will only improve when workers' rights are respected, he said adding: "Your actions (those who received training) can help create better, safer working conditions. Ultimately, this will increase investor confidence, bring more business and jobs to Bangladesh."
US envoy urges errant RMG unit owners to shut and quit business
FE Report | Published: February 21, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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