A high-powered ILO delegation arrived in Dhaka on Saturday night to review Bangladesh’s efforts to improve working conditions and labour rights after the twin industrial disasters.Karon Moanghan, deputy high court judge in the UK, is leading the delegation of the Direct Contacts Mission of the International Labour Organisation. The other members of the team are: Coen Kompier, Al-Wreidat Amin and Siska Dubbert.“The delegation wanted to know in detail about the government’s safety policy and implementation of the amended labour law,” Mikail Shipar, labour and employment secretary, said after a meeting with the delegation at the secretary’s office in Dhaka.The team also wanted to know about the progress of recruitment of new labour inspectors to fortify the vigilance of factories to avert industrial disasters, Shipar said by phone.The government has already recruited nearly 250 factory inspectors to fulfill one of the major conditions set by the Obama administration to regain the generalised system of preferences to the US market.The delegation will also meet with the trade union leaders, leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and members of the standing committee on the labour and employment ministry, he said.The ILO team will give a set of recommendations that Bangladesh needs to follow, he said.The four are the members of the ILO’s supervisory body, said Srinivas B Reddy, country director of ILO.
