Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the Bangladesh government should urgently remove legal and practical obstacles to unionisation in its readymade garment (RMG) industry, reports UNB. “Garment workers face daunting challenges to unionisation, and remain at risk of interference and threats by factories three years after the Rana Plaza building collapse,” said the rights body. The April 2013 building collapse killed 1,100 garment workers and injured many others. In July 2013, the Bangladesh government committed to a Sustainability Compact with the European Union, pledging to reform labour laws. Yet its laws and rules governing labour rights and export processing zones still have rigid union restrictions, in violation of international law, said the HRW. “Let’s remember that none of the factories operating in Rana Plaza had trade unions,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director.
