Four years into Rana Plaza tragedy, Netherlands finds Bangladesh RMG sector ‘safer’

Netherlands finds Bangladesh’s ready-made garment sector now “safer” than four years ago when the Rana Plaza building collapse shook the world.

“I think it's safe to say that the RMG sector in Bangladesh is safer, more compliant and indeed more competitive than it was four years ago,” Dutch Ambassador in Dhaka Leoni Margaretha Cuelenaere said on Monday.

“In a unique concerted effort, governments, and the garment industry, NGOs and trade unions have managed to prevent the sector from turning its back on Bangladesh,” she said.

The ambassador was speaking at an event commemorating the four years of the country’s worst-ever industrial disaster in which over 1,100 workers died.

She, however, said there is no room for “complacency” as “the work on remediation of factories is still far from complete, and a lot of work needs to be done in areas like social dialogue, living wages, workers’ rights and environmental sustainability”.

“Of course, I understand such changes won’t happen overnight, and that progress is often slower than we would like it to be."

"That doesn’t mean that the Dutch government will not continue to push for changes,” she said as the Netherlands government was engaged in the post-Rana Plaza clothing industry reform plans.

The ambassador said Netherlands would also continue to push the Dutch and other multinational companies that source from Bangladesh for the changes further.

“They should also take their responsibilities and make sure that their pricing and sourcing policies are fair and realistic”.

She was inaugurating ‘Fashion Revolution week’ in Dhaka hosted by a Netherlands’ project SNV.

Bangladesh is one of over 90 countries involve in the ‘Fashion Revolution’ movement that calls on people to take part in the campaign for a “fairer, safer, cleaner fashion industry while celebrating those who are on a journey to make it happen”.

The exhibition showcases photographs by the internationally acclaimed photographer Alison Wright, reflecting the lives of workers from the apparel industry of Bangladesh.

The SNV Working with Women project is working in factories to create the women-friendly environment, particularly addressing the issues of sexual and reproductive health.

The ambassador said this is also an area of “concern” for Netherlands.

For factory management, it makes “good business” sense to address those issues for female workers, she said.

The exhibition will continue until Apr 30 from 3pm to 8pm everyday at Bengal Art Lounge in Gulshan.