Brussels, 02/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - The EU is urging the Bangladeshi authorities to apply international health and safety provisions further to the deadly collapse of a textile factory in Savar, just outside Dhaka, Bangladesh.
This tragedy is the straw that broke the camel's back. In a joint press release published on 1 May, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Karel De Gucht once again denounce the deplorable working conditions prevailing in Bangladesh, which is considered as one of the poorest countries of the world, after the Rana Plaza factory near Dhaka collapsed on 24 April, with a death toll of over 400. Ashton and De Gucht had already raised the tone at the end of January after two fires in factories producing western brand clothing - one in November 2012 that killed 111 and the other in January, that had cost the lives of around ten female workers aged 16 to 18.
“The sheer scale of this disaster and the alleged criminality around the building's construction is finally becoming clear to the world. We are both deeply saddened by the terrible loss of life. This tragedy is all the more shocking as it follows textile factory fires in Bangladesh in recent months which have killed more than a hundred workers”, say Ashton and De Gucht. The Rana Plaza plant, which contained five workshops for clothing manufacture linked to the Spanish brand, Mango, and to the British brand, Primark, where 3,000 were employed, was built in an illegal manner that did not comply with safety standards.
Ashton and De Gucht also reaffirm their deep concern about the labour conditions in Bangladesh, including safety provisions and health protection for workers in factories throughout the country. In light of all these events, they call upon the Bangladeshi authorities to “act immediately to ensure that factories across the country comply with international labour standards including international Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions”. At the end of last week, the ILO called for an effort to be made by the government of Bangladesh, employers and trade unions in the country, to ensure workers have a safe place to work in Bangladesh.
As far as the European Union is concerned, this is a last warning. Bangladesh, which benefits form preferential access to the European market, its main outlet with export volumes of textiles amounting to €14.4 billion annually, now risks having the trade preferences granted to it by the EU27 suspended. “The EU is presently considering appropriate action, including through the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) - through which Bangladesh currently receives duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market under the Everything But Arms scheme - in order to incentivise responsible management of supply chains involving developing countries”, Ashton and De Gucht warn. Withdrawal of trade preferences would, however, depend on there being unanimous agreement among the 27 EU member states, and implementation of such a measure would take over one year.
In the meantime, the EU remains “willing and ready” to assist the Bangladeshi authorities in any way it can to meet the required international standards, the European officials say. Also, they continue to encourage European and international companies to “promote better health and safety standards in garment factories in Bangladesh in line with internationally recognised corporate social responsibility (CSR) guidelines”.
The European Parliament, also, had denounced the factory fires in Bangladesh and Pakistan in a resolution dated 17 January 2013 (see EUROPE 10766). (EH/transl.jl)