Bangladesh’s garment industry “needs support, not sanctions”, the visiting British MPs have said, in an apparent dig at the US government’s suspension of GSP privilege for Bangladesh.
They have stressed on concerted efforts to purge the industry of the crisis that arose after the April collapse of Rana Plaza that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly workers.
“This is the time to show support, not sanctions and support should be coming as much from the major buyers of Bangladesh,” said Nick de Bois, a ruling conservative MP, who is also the vice-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Bangladesh, on Monday.
Six MPs of the group led by its Chair ruling conservative MP Anne Main concluded their week-long visit in the wake of the Rana Plaza incident.
At a press briefing before leaving Dhaka on Tuesday morning, they said they would report back to the UK Parliament.
The report will be made available by October to those with whom they interacted during their visit that include Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia and different stakeholders of the garment industry, which is the lifeblood of Bangladesh’s economy.
Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry that fetches about 80 percent of the country’s total export basket hit global headlines in April when the nine-storey shoddy building in Savar caved in.
The US government has punished Bangladesh by suspending its GSP privilege for other products while the European Union rolled out a roadmap to improve the working conditions of the industry that face frequent fire incidents.
After their arrival, the Bangladesh-born labour party MP Rushanara Ali, and Pakistan-born labour MP Shabana Mahmood at a press briefing on Friday also emphasised to work concertedly to get rid of the crisis.
They were ‘disappointed’ over the US’s decision. “…that sends wrong message. It suggests that they turn back on the industry rather than taking responsibility and fixing it, which should be the focus now,” Rushanara, spokesperson of the Labour party, had said.
At Monday’s press briefing they were not present, but their other four colleagues also made similar observation.
Opposition Labour MP Simon Danzcuk said Rana Plaza disaster caused real damage to the people of Bangladesh and “it damaged the reputation of international brands”.
“The message I would send is quite clear, I think international buyers should think little less about protecting their brands, little more about protecting Bangladeshi garment workers”.
He said the suggestions they would made in their report would be useful.
Main, the Chair of the visiting group, said there would be no solutions in the report, but they would highlight some issues that they learnt during the visit which they believed would “create something that will be informative to you (Bangladesh)”.
She said one of the messages that came ‘loud and clear’ during their engagements with stakeholders was that whoever led the next government, Bangladesh needed a long-term strategy that would not change.
“We need to have an idea that for the future of Bangladesh, there is real belief not just in rhetoric, but in actions, cooperation and willingness to deliver the best for the country, not for individual,” she said.
As Bangladesh’s major political parties are at loggerheads over an election-time government, she said they would leave one message of ‘cooperation’ when they left Dhaka.
“We are not here from the same party, but the report will come out from united agreed voices, from united agreed experiences,” said the Chair of the all party group.
As efforts are underway to ensure building safety and good factory working conditions, the MPs suggested that all should look forward to a “sustainable solutions” that they said any political party in power would carry out.
They also suggested senior retailers sit with the government and talk to develop infrastructure like transportation and deep-sea port for the sustainable solutions, a step they said was ‘crucial’ for the country.
“It’s absolutely vital that we respond both compassionately but also positively to the challenges that have negatively emerged from this (Rana Plaza) awful tragedy,” ruling MP Bois said.
He said resources would be needed to make sure there were safe conditions in all garment industries but stressed on leadership from within the industry and the government as well to face the challenges and secure the future of the industry.
He, however, reminded Bangladesh that in the current global economic context, buyers can go anywhere to buy their products, urging the Bangladesh authorities to live up to the promises made after the worst-ever building collapse.
Source: Bd news24
