ILO official in Dhaka

The International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Deputy Director-General arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday ahead of the first anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 22 April 2014, 05:17 AM
Updated : 22 April 2014, 05:17 AM

Gilbert Houngbou will attend the ILO events and those organised by the government on April 24 -- the day last year when Bangladesh's worst ever industrial disaster happened, killing more than 1100 persons, mostly garment factory workers, after the collapse of the high-rise Rana Plaza building.

ILO has supervised a tripartite agreement with the government, factory owners and workers bodies to ensure factory safety and worker’s rights after the Rana Plaza collapse provoked a global outcry.

The ILO is implementing a three-and-a-half year programme to support the national tripartite action plan.

Key elements of the plan include building and fire safety assessments, labour inspection reforms, and occupational safety and health, rehabilitation and skills training.

ILO Dhaka office says Houngbou is expected to meet with the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her cabinet colleagues, employers’ and workers’ organizations, ambassadors and representatives of initiatives involved in improving working conditions in Bangladesh’s burgeoning ready-made garment sector.

He will also speak at a high-level event – One Year After Rana Plaza: Progress and the Way Forward - organised jointly by the government and ILO on Apr 24.