All international brands agreed to participate in today’s Dhaka Apparel Summit-2017, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said on Friday. Leading clothing brands H&M, Zara, C&A, Tchibo had earlier announced to boycott the summit protesting at the recent crackdown on labour leaders and workers, who had participated in a wage strike in December. ‘The confusion in media over the non-participation of some brands in Dhaka Apparel Summit-2017 has ended,’ BGMEA said in a statement. ‘Buyers Forum confirmed that all brands would attend the dinner on the occasion of the summit today [Friday] and participate in all the three sessions of Dhaka Apparel Summit-2017 tomorrow [Saturday]. ‘BGMEA hopes that with the participation and collective efforts of government, private sector, donor agencies, brands and labour organisations, Dhaka Apparel Summit 2017 will be a success,’ added the apex trade body. The summit, hosted by BGMEA, is a Bangladesh garment industry’s signature annual event, where prime minister Sheikh Hasina is the keynote speaker. The BGMEA statement came hours after IndustriALL Global Union, an international platform for labour unions, said it had reached a tripartite agreement with the government and BGMEA over the release of detained labour leaders. The majority of the 35 Bangladeshi garment workers, who were arrested since December last year, have been released and the remaining should be freed shortly, according to a statement issued by IndustriALL Global Union.‘A tripartite agreement was reached on February 23 between IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC), the Ministry of Labour and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, providing the release of the majority of the arrested trade unionists and garment workers. According to the agreement, those remaining will also be freed and cases against them disposed of,’ it said. The garment workers and labour leaders were detained and charges were pressed against them following a strike in 59 factories between December 11 and 20 in Ashulia. Some of the labour leaders were released in mid-February. IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Valter Sanches welcomed the decision to release the jailed activists. ‘The issue that led to the crackdown on unions at the end of last year still remains. We will continue to support the fight for higher wages and will closely monitor the situation until all charges are dropped,’ he was quoted in the statement as saying. Amirul Haque Amin, president of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council and the National Garment Workers Federation, said they would continue their fight for the causes of workers. ‘As a legitimate representative of the Bangladesh garment workers we have a platform. We will continue to fight for our members,’ he said. IndustriALL had organised protest rallies in 16 major cities, including Berlin, Geneva, London, Brussels, The Hague, Washington DC, New York, Ottawa, Kathmandu, and Seoul, against the crackdown on Bangladesh garment workers and labour leaders. Earlier on Thursday, 11 members of US Congress sent a letter to prime minister Sheikh Hasina expressing their deep concerns about the criminalisation of legal labour activity in the country.
