Business Report
The country’s garment sector is moving towards a critical transformation as the latest reforms have started bearing fruits, industry insiders said. Workers unrest last week had picked up despite the wage hike, but reports said it was because of misunderstanding on when it will be implemented. The confusion has been removed, the sources said.
Wal-Mart audit has meanwhile found progress in implementing standard compliance measures at garment factories. In an audit report released last week, the US retailer giant said the calls for more transparency in safety at apparel factories in Bangladesh are paying off.
Wal-Mart has became the first major retailer to release a large-scale audit of Bangladeshi factories from which it sources garments, outlining the failure and improvement rates in fire and building safety at 75 facilities.
It said, ten of the 75 factories had failed initial assessments and improved their scores in follow-up inspections, Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Gardner told Bloomberg online news portal. Only two plants did not meet standards during the follow-up assessment and Wal-Mart will no longer use those locations, it said.
Meanwhile the newly formed European retailers’ body has blamed the US retailers’ association for exploiting the benefits in Bangladesh garments which are basically the results of their inspection regimes. But for Bangladesh, the positive sign is that all stakeholders are working with the industry to secure a rapid transformation to higher level of compliances to safeguard workers interest. The recent wage hike of garment workers has also produced a highly positive signal to the global community that the industry is catching up to global calls.
Meanwhile, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is bringing continued pressure on the industry asking for more reforms, It lamented poor conditions at many factories despite some recent concrete actions taken to address health and safety issues, according to ILO report.
Improving working conditions is crucial for achieving sustainable growth, the UN agency said. It called for a better employment conditions for better socioeconomic outcomes, the report published on Monday and prepared by the ILO Research Department said.
It demanded more actions and warned, unless a comprehensive set of labour market and social policies are introduced, Bangladesh will be unable to maintain its economic momentum and improve living standards.
The RMG sector is central to the economy and new measures need to be far-reaching to bring transformation in this sector, the report said. Economic growth in the last two decades in the country has created jobs, including in export-related industries, but harsh working conditions and low pay now bringing more challenges to the economy. The Rana Plaza collapse that killed over 1100 garment workers brought the issue to global highlights.
The report said Bangladesh has established factories and manufacturing sites without following fire and other safety codes in absence of proper regulatory measures.
The government has taken some concrete action in the past six months to address health and safety issues, but poor working conditions remain the big challenge in many factories.
Bangladesh made breakthrough in global market from garment exports accounting for 4.8 per cent of global apparel exports in 2011 and the share of GDP increased from around 5 in 1990 to over 23 per cent in 2011.
The report said improving employment prospects and working conditions—notably in the RMG sector—will help to safeguard exports, which have been a key driver of growth and employment creation, especially for women.
Source: Weekly Holiday
