A visiting delegation of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights has urged local RMG manufacturers to do more for ensuring workers rights and to continue progress in reaching at a sustainable level. The team made the call at a meeting with the leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), International Labour Organisaion (ILO) and representatives from Bangladesh Labour Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) held at EU mission office in Dhaka yesterday. “Lots of things are yet to do to ensure labor rights in the RMG sector,” BGMEA President Shahidullah Azim told the Dhaka Tribune, quoting Cristian Dan Preda, team leader and vice president of the human rights sub-committee of the EU parliament. They expressed satisfaction over the changes in mind set of the factory owners on safety and workers’ rights issues, Azim said. “We urged the team to ensure ethical buying from the EU buyers as the production cost scaled up sharply due to the implementation of new wages and implementation of corrective action plan by the Accord and Alliance,” said Azim. He said the team wanted to know about the RMG progress, inspection update and labour rights status in the apparel industry. They also wanted to know whether the amended labour law is being implemented effectively or not. The team said there is no objection from the European people about the constructive trade union in the RMG sector, but if it is destructive it would not be welcomed, said Azim quoted the delegation members as saying. The country’s RMG sector witnessed many changes after the safety inspection, but Bangladesh has to maintain the efforts in future, said Preda. On the other hand, ILO Country Director Srinivas Reddy endorsed the progress and workers rights issues to the delegation. The delegation arrived in Dhaka on Sunday to observe the human rights situation in Bangladesh. They will discuss the overall human rights situation including, labour rights, RMG sector, Chittagong Hill Tracts and Rohingya issues. The team will submit a report to the sub-committee after returning to Brussels. BGMEA President Md Atiqul Islam and Vice President Reaz Bin Mahmood were, among other present at the meeting. According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, in July-December period of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $7.29bn from the EU markets through exporting apparel products, which was 3.5% higher compared to $7bn of same period last fiscal year.
