The advisory board of the ILO’s RMG programme in Bangladesh has recently agreed on principle to extend the project up to 2020 from 2017 in an aim to maintain quality and sustain the benefits of the project. In a recent meeting at the labour ministry International Labour Organisation representatives said that the donors should grant the extension to the project as the absorptive capacity in implementing partners was low and support provided under the project needed to maintain quality over time to sustain the benefits. The board also decided to arrange additional $7 million of fund to establish a Remediation Coordination Cell for the factories inspected under the national initiative. The ILO also recommended three Bangladeshi nationals for the project — a deputy project manager, a gender specialist and a monitoring and evaluation specialist –– to strengthen the capacity of the project. Workplace safety assessment alone does not necessarily guarantee better working condition unless it is followed up by remediation, the ILO said. Following Rana Plaza building collapse, the ILO launched the programme in the readymade garment sector titled ‘Improved Working Condition in the RMG Sector’ in October 2013. The estimated cost of the project was $24 million funded by Canada, Netherlands and UK. ‘The ILO proposed to extend the programme in the RMG sector and the labour rights organisations have been trying to arrange additional fund to support the remediation process and build the longer-term capacity of the regulatory bodies to take on full responsibility of inspections,’ labour secretary Mikail Shipar told New Age on Monday. Under the ILO supportive national initiative 1,549 factories were inspected and the organisation is now working on strengthening capacity of regulatory authorities to follow up corrective actions and facilitation of access to finance. The ILO proposed that the Bangladesh government in association with it (ILO) should prepare a transition plan so that current task performed by the EU Accord and the North American Alliance could be smoothly transferred under a new agreement. Syed Ahmed, inspector general of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment, said the proposal for the extension of the ILO project up to 2020 would be sent to the Economic Relations Division for approval. Under the technical support from the ILO, a remediation coordination cell will be set up with 60 engineers, he said. ‘Besides, we want to establish an advisory pool comprising with the eminent technical experts,’ Syed said. According to labour ministry sources, arrangement of $7.2 million additional fund remained under process and the EU might provide the amount for the extended project. In the advisory board meeting the ILO programme manager Tuomo Poultiainen presented overall budget and expenditure of the RMG project during the period 2013-16. According to the presentation end of January 2016 the ILO used 53 per cent of fund and fulfilled 64 per cent commitments. The ILO recommended reverting the unallocated funds and additional funds to Remediation Coordination Cell and extending the work to 2020.
