Apart from the occupational health and safety measures, the stakeholders of the country’s RMG sector should take more effective initiatives to ensure the workers’ rights, said a civil society organization.International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR), which advocates for governments to regulate company behavior that negatively impacts human rights for establish transparency in supply chain of clothing and footwear industry, recently made the remarks while exchanging views with a team of Bangladeshi visitors at its Washington office.During the meeting, its legal and policy associate Nicole Vander Meulen put more emphasis on workers’ rights with a particular focus on freedom of association and right to bargain collectively. They urged the stakeholders, especially the apparel makers, brands, retailers and government to take more effective measures for ensuring worker rightsThe 10-member delegation from Bangladesh under the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) recently visited the United States on the invitation of the US State Department. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Vice President (finance) Mohammad Nasir led the delegation.Other members of the delegation were Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) president and Ekushey Television CEO and Editor-in-Chief Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, The Daily Bhorer Kagoj Shyamal Dutta, GTV Editor-in-Chief Syed Ishtiaque Reza, BGMEA Joint Secretary Omar Gias, the Daily Samakal Senior Reporter Abu Hena Muhib, NTV Senior Correspondent Md. Hasanul Alam (Shaon), the Daily Sun Staff Correspondent Kutub Uddin Muhammad Jasim, the Daily Kaler Kantho Staff Reporter Rashedul Hasan Tusher and the daily Manobkantha Staff Reporter Mofizul Islam Chowdhury. Citing the example of Rana Plaza, ICAR legal and policy associate Nicole Vander Meulen said Rana Plaza demonstrated that workers in the Bangladesh apparel industry are facing serious health and safety risks that must be addressed. The Accord on Fire and Building Safety is an important and positive development and has had a beneficial impact on the industry.When asked whether they have any engagement with Bangladesh, she replied that ICAR’s work does not entail engaging with Bangladesh apparel industry, but said that many brands which are the focus of their transparency related advocacy produce goods in Bangladesh.“If workers of Bangladesh’s apparel industry get access to information about which brands they are producing for, then they will be able to reach out to those brands to report labor rights abuses and request the brands to engage with the factory”, she added.Citing data from the Ministry of Labour, BGMEA Vice President Mohammad Nasir said that around 138 trade unions were registered in Bangladesh till 2013, but since the Rana Plaza incident the number of registered trade unions stands at 564.As per the commitment at the International Labour Conference (ILC), the government has brought down the workers’ representation to 20 per cent from 30 per cent in formation of a trade union in a factory. The government approved the draft of ‘Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act, 2018’ at a recent cabinet meeting.Narrating global price inequality in apparel products, BGMEA vice-president Nasir said that brands are not paying ethical price while importing apparels from Bangladesh, but they pay higher price in case of other countries. Exporters are going through difficult period for such unequal competition.Moreover, the Bangladeshi entrepreneurs are struggling to meet the demands of the two buyer coalitions– Accord and the Alliance. The remediation works are almost done, he added.The delegation members also mentioned that Bangladesh made garments are not getting fair prices in the USA market since long. During the last 15 years, price of several products dropped by more than 40 percent. “When the entrepreneurs do not get the ethical price, how they pay more to workers?” said the delegates in oblique question saying that it casts a negative impact on workers.They also mentioned that Bangladesh is losing its market share in the USA which once was a top destination for Bangladeshi apparels. Now Germany has occupied the top most position for Bangladesh apparel products. In the meeting, Bangladesh representatives also urged the brands and retailers to pay attention to the large gap between the import and the sale price at the consumer level.According to apparel makers, RMG product which is sold at 55 dollars in the US market is procured from Bangladesh at best by $5. If the buyers do not pay fair price, how can workers get a fair wage? But buyers are keeping pressure on Bangladesh on issues relating to workers’ rights and association of trade unions, they added. “It is very difficult question; why the price of Bangladeshi Apparel products and market share are decreasing in the United States? It’s out of their knowledge,” said ICAR legal and policy associate Nicole.Nicole Vander said they are working with some 72 brands, who importing clothes from Bangladesh. Of these, many brands cooperates them through providing information regarding their supply chain. But at least 10 organizations do not reply any answer.
