Brussels, 01/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - The stakeholders in the multiparty initiative being conducted by the European Commission, the USA and the ILO in collaboration with Bangladesh since the summer of 2013 - the sustainability compact - set their priorities for the continuing work when they were at the second follow-up meeting in Dhaka on Thursday 28 January. The sustainability compact is intended to improve labour standards and conditions, and safety in the work places of the textile industry in Bangladesh, following the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory and a series of accidents that plunged the country into mourning in 2012-2013.
The parties, which welcomed Canada at this meeting as a new member, assessed the progress of this initiative and defined the priorities for their continuing work. The meeting doubled as an open dialogue with the stakeholders in the textile and clothing sector in Bangladesh (including the unions, NGOs, buyers and employers), the Commission summed up on behalf of the EU.
The sustainability compact has thus far made “tangible progress”. The Bangladeshi government has set up a legal framework for labour protection, which must be adequately implemented. In addition, much work has been done in the area of initial safety inspections in the factories and in strengthening the capacities of inspection staff.
The priorities for their continuing work, which is defined in the joint conclusions of the follow-up meeting, include: - the registration of unions; - investigations and prosecutions into unfair practices in labour law; - the possibility for workers to elect their representatives freely at factory level, in line with ILO conventions; - granting workers export processing zone rights, commensurate with those provided for workers outside these zones.
On the safety level, the sustainability compact stakeholders underlined the need for practical measures and repairs in the factories. The partners agreed to continue to support the Bangladeshi authorities with a view to strengthening the necessary capacity for an effective supervision of occupational safety and health conditions, electrical safety and the structural integrity of buildings.
As regards corporate responsibility, the parties underlined the importance for brands and retailers to adopt practices that promote responsible business conduct in global supply chains. They encouraged brands and retailers to adopt a uniform code of conduct for factory audits in Bangladesh.
To follow the progress of the sustainability compact for the textile industry in Bangladesh, the Commission organised an initial follow-up meeting in Brussels in October 2014 and published two technical reports in July 2014 and April 2015 (see EUROPE 11302). The joint conclusions from the follow-up meeting in Dhaka on 28 January are available at: http://goo.gl/ZsQyKH . (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)