Garment entrepreneurs, trade unionists, government officials and development partners are all in favour of a permanent tripartite consultative committee to sort out disputes confronting the country’s apparel sector. “We need a permanent tripartite consultative mechanism for the garment sector to build sound relations between employers and employees,” said Roy Ramesh Chandra, an advisory council member of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS). “The consultative council will be an authority and its recommendations have to be accepted by the policymakers and other stakeholders. Otherwise, it will be a paper-based committee,” he said at a roundtable at The Daily Star Centre in Dhaka yesterday. BILS, in association with non-profit German Foundation FES, has commissioned a study on formulation of a tripartite consultative council for the garments sector. The study report was shared at the roundtable. The report, presented at the programme by Jakir Hossain, a professor of Rajshahi University, said there are nine tripartite forums working in the apparel sector. But no tripartite forum or institution formed particularly for the garment sector has strong legal foundation, as most of them are ad hoc and were formed mainly during a disaster or crisis, he said. The new tripartite body should be a central authority and other committees will work under its supervision, he said. Chandra said there should be a line ministry for the sector to take it forward. Mohammad Hatem, a former vice president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said: “We will be happy to see the formation of the committee.”Amirul Haque Amin, president of IndustriALL Bangladesh, said the consultative committee should be made functional so it does not fail. Srinivas Reddy, country director of International Labour Organisation, termed the concept a great initiative. He said the tripartite mechanism is one of the core values of society and the ILO as well. He said regular dialogue is important, instead of sitting for a dialogue when a crisis arrives. Mikail Shipar, labour secretary, said disputes cannot be resolved and confidence cannot be built without social dialogue. “I am convinced that there should be a permanent tripartite consultative council for the garments sector in order to take the immensely potential sector forward. ”The secretary urged the BILS to propose a framework for the committee to help the government examine the issue. “We can’t change the laws overnight. But we have regulations at our disposal where we can bring in changes. ”Both Reddy and Shipar said the planned council for the garment sector must be linked to the existing national Tripartite Consultative Council. “Otherwise, it will be a farce,” added Shipar. Faruque Hassan, senior vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the relations between factory owners and workers have improved over the years, even if it has not reached its expected level. Labour leader Babul Akter said the leaders to be picked for the planned consultative committee must come from the garments sector. “Likewise, factory owners who will be chosen should be from compliant factories.” Shamima Nasrin, another labour leader, said there should be adequate representation of women as most garment workers are female. Eckhard Wilhelm Heine, head of the development cooperation of the German embassy in Dhaka, said a tripartite mechanism can yield great things. “So, let’s continue our efforts so we can reach a permanent tripartite mechanism.”Sten Petersen, country director of 3F, Denmark’s largest trade union, said a tripartite body cannot work effectively without a clear legal mandate. He said 90 percent of cases at the labour courts in Bangladesh can be solved at the sectoral and factory level. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said a number of forums and committees have been formed in the country but they have worked reactively instead of proactively. As a result, we did not achieve desired results. We hope the labour ministry will keep this in mind while formulating the tripartite mechanism.”Alonzo Suson, country programme director of Solidarity Centre; Md Anwar Hossain, joint convener of Sramik Karmochari Oikya Parishad, a platform of workers and employees; Sukkur Mahmood, BILS vice chairman; Md Zafrul Hasan, joint secretary general, and Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmmed, executive director, also spoke.
