In response to the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in April 2013, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the European Union (EU) and the United States (joined later) engaged in a joint initiative known as “Compact for Continuous Improvements in Labour Rights and Factory Safety in the Ready-Made Garment and […]
Sustainability Compact – Achievements and Challenges

Bangladesh Sustainability Compact Achievements

Sustainability Compact achievements may be categorised in Technical and Legislative achievements. Technical Achievements: Out of more than 7,000 factories, as of March 2017 approximately 1,580 factories have been inspected and 55 terminated by the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh for reasons of workplace safety. The Government of Bangladesh, in collaboration with the ILO […]
Bangladesh Sustainability Compact – Tasks Ahead

The visiting delegation of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in the last week of March, led by Socialists and Democrats Co-rapporteur Mr. Arne Lietz, called on Bangladesh to address four issues: full alignment of the EPZ draft law Bangladesh Labour Act with the UN core Labour Convention modalities for establishing trade unions and the […]
No Trade Union – Workers’ Welfare Associations at EPZ

Bangladesh Commerce minister ruled out the possibility of any further changes to the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone (EPZ) Labour Act 2014, regarding Trade Union (TU) activities in the Bangladesh’s eight EPZs, employing 360,000 workers. He said this on Thursday in Dhaka while speaking to the media about the outcomes of his recent meeting with the European […]
Bangladesh’s advantage in RMG cannot be taken for granted

The advantage enjoyed by Bangladesh in readymade garment (RMG) sector cannot be taken for granted, and the country’s competitiveness in the apparel export market may erode in the long run if working conditions do not improve, says the World Bank in its Bangladesh Development Update October 2014. In the immediate future, stronger attention is needed […]
EU for urgent formulation of rules to execute labour law

The European Union (EU) Monday pressed for urgent formulation of necessary rules for implementation of the labour law, especially to safeguard labour rights and standards. The call came from a meeting on ‘Bangladesh Sustainability Compact’, held in Brussels, one year after signing the agreement to review the progress made in the country’s ready-made garment (RMG) […]
Bangladesh Factory Checks Reveal More Than 80,000 Safety Issues

The two groups of western retailers – Accord and Alliance – have completed their initial inspection of fire, electrical and structural safety of nearly 1,700 garment factories in Bangladesh, identifying flaws in most of the units. Accord, the European Union (EU) based group with 189 members including H&M and Inditex, Tuesday said it had found […]
Bangladesh Govt. draft policy for RMG sub-contracting

The government of Bangladesh has drafted a new policy to bar non-compliant sub-contracting readymade garment (RMG) factories from doing business with exporters, official sources said. The government, after consulting local and international stakeholders, is framing the new ‘sub-contracting policy 2013’ with a view to ensuring a positive working environment in the sub-contracting business. The policy […]