ILO, Sweden, Bangladesh sign agreement to launch new initiative in garment sector

An agreement to launch a new initiative to enhance “workplace rights and industrial relations” in Bangladesh’s clothing industry has been signed in New York.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 26 Sept 2015, 06:36 PM
Updated : 26 Sept 2015, 06:36 PM

Sweden will fund $5.4 million in this five-year project, a new endeavour in the series of initiatives undertaken in the clothing sector following the worst-ever factory disaster in 2013.  

The European Union countries and the US, which are Bangladesh’s main garment export destinations, remained concerned about the factory safety and workers rights’, particularly their freedom of association.  

The UN agency ILO says this new initiative, which will continue from Nov 2015 to Dec 2020, is aimed at enhancing labour relations through “improved dialogue between employers and workers, particularly at workplace level”.  

Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation Isabella Lövin, ILO Director General Guy Ryder, and Bangladesh’s Secretary for Labour Mikail Shipar signed the agreement on Saturday in the margins of the UN General Assembly.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali witnessed the signing.  

The project has been named as ‘Promoting Social Dialogue and Harmonious Industrial Relations in the Bangladesh Ready-Made Garment Industry.’

The ILO would implement this project with support from Bangladesh government’s department of labour.

The project will also engage international buyers and trade unions.

Speaking at the signing, ILO Director General Guy Ryder said this initiative would contribute towards “improved working conditions and labour rights in the garment sector, in line with relevant international labour standards.”

He acknowledged that much progress had been made in this sector over recent years.

Secretary Shipar said the government was “committed to enhancing conditions and rights for all workers.

“This initiative will make a major contribution towards that goal. Although initially it is targeting the garment industry, but the impact of the project will eventually cover all sectors,” he said.

Swedish Minister Lövin emphasised the need to support women garment workers.

“Sweden is proud to partner with Bangladesh and ILO in this project, especially as it focuses on a sector where 80 percent of the workers are women,” she said.

Bangladesh’s clothing sector has grown rapidly since the 1980s and currently comprises some 3,500 export-oriented factories which generate over 80 percent of the nation’s export earnings.

The industry currently employs an estimated 4.2 million workers, the majority of whom are women.