Global concerns after the Savar factory building collapse are ‘genuine’, head of the European Union Delegation to Bangladesh William Hanna says.
He claimed the EU did not want to put ‘sanctions’ on the Bangladesh’s main export item, readymade clothes.
“We want to work together,” he said on Tuesday at a joint press briefing after being updated about the measures the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturing and Exporters Association (BGMEA) had taken in the wake of the April building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garment workers.
BGMEA organised the briefing, first of its kind after the Rana Plaza incident.
Ambassadors of most of the European countries including the UK, Sweden, Netherlands, France, Spain and Switzerland, which are main destinations of Bangladesh’s garment products were present.
The representative of the United States Embassy was also there, as were those of International Labour Organisation, UKaid, GiZ, and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
All directors of BGMEA were present with their officials, including those in the fire -fighting and medical divisions.
Hanna said the Savar incident had to be ‘a turning point’ for the industry. Stating that the briefing was ‘positive’, he said the building collapse incident made a ‘big impact’ worldwide.
“It shocked the world. Stories are still in the press long afterwards,” he added.
Hanna called upon all, including buyers, to play a ‘responsible role’.
BGMEA President Atiqul Islam said they had informed the diplomats about steps being taken after the incident.
“We gave salaries to all workers worth Tk 6 crore. We paid for the treatment of workers in different private hospitals. We are recruiting more fire-fighting experts in our team,” he said.
He highlighted some of their initiatives after the collapse of the building that housed at least five garment factories.
Islam said inspections were going on to check all buildings where garment factories are located.
“We are ready to do everything they suggest (diplomats) us,” he said.
In his inaugural speech, Islam, however, alleged some NGOs funded by different donors “instigate workers against the employers in the name of enlightening them of their rights”.
He, however, suggested ‘unified code of conduct’ for the buyers and also an association of the buyers to avoid confusion.
“Our mid-level managers get confused when different buyers demand different things when it comes to inspection,” he said, “A unified code of conduct would remove ambiguity and misunderstanding about the expected standard.”
A two-minute video clipping was shown before the briefing depicting growth and prospects of the industry.
With more than $ 20 billion exports last year, Bangladesh’s garment sector accounts for more than 80 percent of the total export basket.
The industry employs nearly four million workers, 80 percent of who are women.
Global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company projected $ 45 billion exports of Bangladeshi garments by 2020, just a year before the country wishes to be a middle-income one.
But incidents of factory mishaps that hit the global headlines pushed the sector to the brink with many activists calling for a boycott of Bangladesh.
The BGMEA President said the two latest incidents of Tazreen factory fire and Savar building collapse had been ‘turning point’ for them.
“Those generated consensus among us about factory safety.”
He listed some steps like signing of the tripartite agreement with the government and workers for factory safety, the labour law reforms and allowing workers to unite for their cause.
Source: Bd news24
