Britain is going to launch three new projects to help improve working conditions and safety standards in Bangladesh’s garment industry, its international development minister says.
Alan Duncan announced the new projects in Dhaka on Wednesday ahead of the first year anniversary of the worst-ever building collapse on Apr 24.
He said those would be “a million pound projects”.
“The first will help all levels of staff, factory owners, management, supervisors and workers, to work together to improve the working environment and productivity in their garment factory, addressing issues such as fire safety, absenteeism, working hours, take-home pay and efficiency.
“The second will provide training for middle management to improve knowledge and understanding of labour and safety standards, and how to apply these in their garment factories.
“It includes information about Bangladesh’s new labour law and makes this available in an easy to use software app.
“The third will improve the healthcare and advice given to garment factory workers. It will train nurses who work in factory clinics to increase the range of services they provide.
“This will also enhance the competitiveness of garment factories as a healthier workforce helps factory performance,” Duncan announced.
He arrived on Monday and met readymade garment industry stakeholders, apart from political leaders.
He also visited Savar and met some of the survivors of the Rana Plaza collapse that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garment workers.
Duncan said during his Savar visit, it was “inspiring to hear how the survivors have sought to maintain their dignity and re-establish their lives and livelihoods, despite such severe, crushing injuries and psychological trauma”.
“We can all learn from their stories,” he said.
File Photo
The factory collapse shone a spotlight on working conditions in the garment industry, he said and that they had since ramped up their efforts to improve safety and working conditions in Bangladesh’s garment sector.
Along with co-funding from Canada and the Netherlands, the UK government is providing £4.8 million for an International Labour Organisation programme, which will support inspections at around 1500 factories in Bangladesh, provide safety awareness training, and help victims recover from these disasters and launch the Better Work programme.
“So far 200 factories have been inspected for structural safety and 120 for fire and electrical safety, and we are supporting the development of a publicly accessible database to record the results of inspections,” he said.
The development minister identified the rapid growth of Bangladesh’s garment sector beyond regulations as its “biggest problem”.
“There has been some progress, but still we need a long way to go . . . this year has to be the year to improve the conditions of the sector, which grew over the last 25 years in Bangladesh,” he said.
He, however, said the garment sector remains vital to poverty reduction and the economic empowerment of women in Bangladesh that he said “must not forget”.
Duncan also committed Britain’s support to Bangladesh’s development and progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.
“It’s economic prosperity and social development is important to us, including to the half a million people of Bangladeshi origin living in the UK and the prosperity and stability of this region,” he said.
Source: UNBConnect
