The Centre of Excellence for Bangladesh Apparel Industries (CEBAI) was launched Tuesday with an aim to develop skills of garment workers while raising value addition to the industry. The Bangladesh government, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Swedish government, leading Swedish fashion retailer Hennes and Mauritz (H&M), and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) organised the launching programme at a city hotel. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed was present as the chief guest with BGMEA president Atiqul Islam in the chair. Earlier on December 07 last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the CEBAI during a ceremony held at the Dhaka Apparel Summit at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital. The ILO will implement the CEBAI project in partnership with the Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB), the National Skills Development Council (NSDC) secretariat, the Department of Technical Education (DTE), the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) and ministries of employment, labour, and expatriate welfare and overseas employment, employers and workers’ organisations and donors. The duration of the project will be from January 01, 2014 till December 31, 2016. Tofail Ahmed said skill development and productivity enhancement are the two main challenges in achieving the US$ 50 billion target. “We are still behind our competitor countries in terms of productivity. The CEBAI can play a significant role in this regard by providing skills and need-based training for our industry,” he said. The minister said the initiative is not only the first in Bangladesh, but also in the world. After the collapse of Rana Plaza, many initiatives were taken, said the minister, adding Rana Plaza is not the only story of Bangladesh. The CEBAI demonstrates that with an industry-based training focus, an initiative can effectively increase employability and drive higher incomes for the working poor. It will also help guide the sector towards higher productivity, value addition and use of new technology while facilitating trade and investment. The project will give training and certification for instructors, industry trainers and assessors and briefings for managers and owners of enterprises. Consistent with employment trends of the RMG sector, most beneficiaries will be women and there is a 5.0 per cent target to include people with disabilities. State minister for foreign affairs Shariar Alam said after the Rana Plaza collapse, all the stakeholders raised their voices for better delivery from Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry. Thus the country has turned the threat into opportunity. The CEBAI itself has challenges which need to be fine-tuned, he said. It is better suitable in a university, he noted. Mr Srinivas B Reddy said this is just a beginning which will not only improve skills but add value to the industry. It can address issues like productivity and value chain improvement and social development. Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Benoît-Pierre Laramée said skills development has been a key element for making RMG industry prosperous, competitive and sustainable. German Ambassador to Bangladesh Dr Thomas Prinz said vocational training is compositeness of German industry as 66 per cent students receive vocational training in Germany which is the backbone. Bangladesh is also on the right track.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/04/22/89781

The head of garment lobbyists Tuesday voiced concern over ‘abuse’ of power by trade union leaders, saying cultural lag makes them vulnerable to malpractice. Md Atiqul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, also expressed his fear about the ‘external influence’ and political motives of bargain agents. “Our concern is that there is a lack of education, awareness on the principles of trade union, and motivation among our workers,” he said. “Their age and cultural backwardness make trade unions vulnerable to abuse the power of union,” he added. His concerns came at a social dialogue, held at a city hotel, which was jointly organised by International Labour Organization and governments of Denmark and Norway. “There is always a fear of external influence and politicisation of the trade unions that can only lead to disruption,” he said. To enable the industry to have a proper functioning of the trade union, Mr Islam said the first and the foremost prerequisite is to educate the people, increase awareness, train and motivate the workers on their rights and responsibilities. “We are in support of legal and constructive trade union, so that we can create a better industrial atmosphere, that’s our motto,” he said requesting to include the productivity and efficiency component in the social dialogue design. Tomoko Nishimoto, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific of the ILO, said there are considerable benefits to be gained by both businesses and workers from enhanced social dialogue. She added that for the workforce social dialogue can deliver enhanced wages and better working conditions by helping workers realise their fundamental rights such as freedom of association and collective bargaining. Ms Nishimoto explained that for ILO, social dialogue included all types of negotiation, consultation and exchange of information between, or among, representatives of governments, employers and workers on issues of common interest. “It is in the very real interests of both workers and businesses to have robust social dialogue at both enterprise and sectoral level,” she added. Explaining different steps taken by the government, State Minister for Labour Mujibul Haque Chunnu said law has been amended and the rules to implement the law will finalise shortly. Secretary General of the IndustriAll Bangladesh Council (IBC) Roy Ramesh Chandra said effective and meaningful dialogue is the prerequisite for a sustainable industry and a sound industrial relation is inevitable for productivity to maintain uninterrupted production process. The government should create an atmosphere so that workers can organise and bargain collectively while the employers should treat workers as partner of production, he said. “Trade unions should exercise creative and constructive and responsible role to ensure that unionisation is not a problem but a solution,” he said. He also called the brands to pay “right” price by which manufacturers can make a profit to pay the living wages of workers. Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar, Vice-President of the Bangladesh Employers Federation (BEF) Sabrina Islam, First Vice-President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) AH Aslam Sunny, Chairman of National Coordination Committee for Workers’ Education (NCCWE) Abdul Mukit Khan and ILO Country Director in Bangladesh Srinivas Reddy, among others, spoke at the dialogue.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/04/22/89777

No significant progress has yet been made in identifying missing workers, paying compensation and improving the socioeconomic conditions of the victims and their families even two years after the tragic Rana Plaza incident, a study report revealed Tuesday. The fourth monitoring report prepared by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) also sought serious attention from the government, apparel manufacturers, retailers and other stakeholders to ensure smooth delivery of follow-up treatment to the victims and legal issues for the sake of justice in the country’s worst-ever industrial disaster that killed 1,138 people and injured hundred others. It also suggested further attention to the activities under EU Sustainability Compact, Accord, Alliance, National Tripartite Plan of Actions to speed up restructuring and reforms of the garment sector which plays a key role in the country’s economic growth. The report titled “Moving Beyond the Shadow of the Rana Plaza Tragedy: In Search of a Closure and Restructuring Strategy” was released at a CPD dialogue on Rana Plaza Tragedy: Two Years After at BRAC Centre Inn in the capital in the afternoon. CPD Distinguished Fellow Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya moderated the function where Secretary of the ministry of labour and employment (MoLE) Mikhail Shiper and President of Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) Abdus Salam Murshedy spoke as the chief guest and the special guest respectively. While presenting the report that highlighted six issues like debate over number, support for Rana Plaza victims, restructure and reforms of the apparel sector and initiatives of various local and global groups, CPD Additional Research Director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem said the debate over the total number of victims is still not over as some 159 workers have been claimed to be missing, which is currently being verified. During the second year, no additional missing workers have been identified, he said. Citing a telephone interview under the study, he said despite various initiatives, the socioeconomic conditions of the victims and their families are not at the same level compared to the condition before the collapse of the nine-storey building that housed five apparel units. He said progress in reemployment of the affected workers had been made during the second year when a total of 2,122 workers were reemployed. “Progress in 14 cases filed during the first year was rather limited as those cases are now under trial and the case filed by Rajuk is under investigation. Speedy disposal of the cases need to be ensured for the sake of justice,” he added. Speaking on the occasion, Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, Assistant Executive Director of BILS, said it will not be possible to come to an effective conclusion on the tragedy without ensuring decent life of the victims and their families. “And the support in any form for them should be rights-based, not charity-based and all efforts made by various quarters in this connection need to be institutionalised and well-coordinated,” he said. EAB President and former president of BGMEA Abdus Salam Murshedy said various groups like Accord and Alliance were formed to inspect fire, structural and other safety concerns in the apparel units, which was a good thing. “But lack of coordination among the activities of the groups caused a serious problem for the manufacturers as each group has different observations on safety issues. A uniform safety measure is required to this effect,” he said. He added that many small and medium-size factories were hit hard for not having adequate safety measures following the Rana Plaza tragedy. Mr Mikhail Shiper said more than Tk 1.84 billion has so far been distributed among the victims and their families as compensation. Of the amount, around 1.70 billion comes from foreign sources, especially from retailers and Tk 0.21 billion from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. They have recently managed to identify 104 missing workers out of 166, he said, adding that efforts are on to trace 62 others. Debapriya Bhattacharya said the government should take immediate measures regarding around 800 factories, which have no affiliation with BGMEA and BKMEA, to avoid incidents like Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen Fashions fire. He also put emphasis on considering any fresh move for amending the existing labour law to fix compensation benchmark and other things. “We need to conclude the chapter of the tragedy in transparent way with satisfaction,” he added.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/04/22/89793

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has found ‘lack of transparency and dillydallying’ in disbursing the funds deposited for the Rana Plaza collapse victims. The country chapter of the Berlin-based international anti-graft watchdog came up with the findings while the second anniversary of the worst industrial disaster in the country is round the corner. “Two years after the incident, about Tk 1.08 billion, out of Tk 1.27 billion that was deposited with the prime minister’s fund as aid to the victims, is yet to be disbursed,” according to a TIB statement. “The persons accused of the industrial accidents in the country, including Tazreen fire and Rana Plaza collapse, did not come in to accountability. So the accidents are happening repeatedly,” said TIB Trustee Board Chairman Sultana Kamal. She was speaking at a press conference arranged in the capital on Tuesday to present its report titled ‘Steps taken to implement good governance in ready-made garment (RMG) sector: Progress in last one year’. TIB executive director (ED) Dr Iftekharuzzaman, deputy ED Dr Sumaiya Khair and director (research and policy) Mohammad Rafiqul Hasan were also present at the press meet. The research report was prepared by TIB programme manager Manzur-e-Khuda and assistant programme manager (research and policy) Nazmul Huda Mina. Reviewing 55 indicators in ongoing 80 initiatives for development of the sector, TIB said though the programmes achieved 60 per cent success, many areas did not achieve much in terms of labour rights, workplace safety and other benefits for the workers. TIB saw challenges in continuation of the achievements, as only 12 programmes were implemented, 12 went at a snail’s pace among ongoing 48 programmes, while 20 initiatives faced total stalemate. It recommended 10 points for removing alleged lackings in good governance in implementing the initiatives for development of the RMG sector. The recommendations include separate ministry for ensuring good governance in the export-oriented industry, formation of ‘public sector board’ comprising stakeholders for coordinated implementation process, and instituting a fund for ensuring compliance in sub-contracting and small factories and labour-welfare fund by taking 1 to 1.5 cents on each garment product from buyers and factory owners. TIB also called for forming workers’ database as soon as possible, creating coordinated listing of sub-contracting factories, strengthening capacity of the Department of Labour and Inspection of prevailing rights practice in labour organizations, asking buyers to expose names of their Bangladeshi partners on their websites, resolution of cases in connection with Rana Plaza and Tazreen disasters, and revelation of the names of victims of Rana Plaza and amount of compensation. The report said despite amendment of the labour law, some of its clauses are being used for “terrorizing” workers and depriving them of their rights. “Dillydallying in formulating regulations of the Labour Law, factories cannot make committees for health and safety,” it stated. Dr Iftekharuzzaman said though minimum wage is increased after the Rana Plaza collapse, the amounts of wages are not up to the mark of current living standard. “Not only that, many workers do not get their wages regularly,” he said. The watchdog found out that some officials in Labour Department informed owners before issuing registration to a trade union. They also allegedly take Tk 5,000-10,000 for issuing registration. Its report further pointed out that though there is a clause against giving workers after-hours work for more than two hours, a circular was issued to make them work four hours as additional duty. “Some factories also compel workers to work one hour extra without pay,” it added. The nine-storey Rana Plaza that housed a number of RMG factories collapsed on April 24, 2013, killing 1,138 people and injuring many others, mostly garment workers.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/04/22/89798

The newly launched Centre of Excellence for Bangladesh Apparel Industries or CEBAI will enhance competitiveness in the garment sector by fixing skill shortage, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said yesterday.CEBAI is an initiative supported by International Labour Organisation, the Swedish government, leading Swedish retailer H&M, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the Bangladesh government.Based in the garment manufacturing hub of Ashulia, the centre will provide need-based certified training and research the socio-economic aspects of the garment industry. “Most importantly, the centre will regularly conduct research on the industry to keep it on the right track of development and act as the think-tank for the apparel industry,” Ahmed said at the unveiling of the CEBAI logo at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka. “This is the first such centre established not only in the country but also in the world.”In December last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the centre at Dhaka Apparel Summit.CEBAI will work as an independent centre and protect the interests of millions of workers and value chain partners, said Syed Ferhat Anwar, professor at Institute of Business Administration of Dhaka University.The centre will provide consultancy services and conduct research on economic and market forecasts and technology for suggesting policy directives.“The centre will help enhance productivity and move the value chain up in the apparel sector,” said Srinivas B Reddy, ILO country director for Bangladesh.It will also create a more skilled workforce and help get better pay, he added.“The Centre of Excellence will help us enhance the skills and productivity of the workforce in the garment industry,” said Atiqul Islam, president of BGMEA.Representatives from industries, academies, development organisations and government entities will govern CEBAI, he added.“It is a perfect example of collaboration between the public and private sectors,” said Jenny Fagerlin, sustainability manager for H&M in Bangladesh.The centre will help the country achieve its apparel exporting target of $50 billion by 2021, she added. Shahriar Alam, state minister for foreign affairs, stressed the need to operate CEBAI on a university campus. “It is important to provide a congenial environment for study. I think a university campus can give such an environment.” CEBAI will be operated under a three-year project that will end in December 2016.In addition to training garment workers, the project will also train supervisors and managers on occupational safety and health, disability inclusion, workers’ rights and responsibilities.The centre will also offer training and certification for instructors, industry trainers and assessors, and briefings for managers and executives of enterprises.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/centre-fix-skills-gap-garment-sector-78576

Only 12 out of the 80 ongoing initiatives to improve governance in the garment sector were completed in fiscal 2014-15, according to Transparency International Bangladesh.The country office of the global civil society movement against corruption said the implementation of 48 initiatives identified to fix the problems in the garment sector is underway, but 12 of them are moving slowly. Another 20 projects have remained stagnant. TIB said there has been progress in case of capacity building of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) and the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence and the decentralisation of Rajuk and the DIFE in the last one year. Steps were also taken to ensure factory safety.But labour rights and the security during the job period have been evaded, it said in a report yesterday.The report from TIB comes just three days before the second anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse that killed more than 1,135 and injured thousands.Conducted between April last year and March this year, the report is the second follow-up to the TIB research, “Readymade garment: Problems to Good Governance and Way Forward”. The findings of the research were disclosed at a media briefing at the TIB office in the capital.Although 95 percent of the garment factories are implementing the minimum wage, there are allegations that they are not repaying the salaries by the seventh day of a month, according to the report.Furthermore, there is an unwillingness to provide other facilities such as leave, maternity leave and attendance salaries.There is also a lack of political will in creating an environment that would ensure labour rights and collective bargaining, said the TIB. The production target has gone up by 60 percent, meaning the workers have been put under immense pressure to meet those numbers, TIB said, adding that only 16 percent of the factories are providing living wage to their workers.The report lauded the hiring of 235 factory inspectors in line with the Sustainability Compact.Five new offices of the factory inspection have been set up in garment belts and adequate workforce has been ensured. However, they were not given the logistic support, said TIB.It said 114 new trade unions were given licence but there are allegations that Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000 were realised to provide the licence.A hotline was supposed to be set up at the labour directorate but it is yet to see the light of the day because of a lack of political will, said TIB.A time-befitting fire service guideline was formulated in September last year, but it was later cancelled because of the influence from Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, which argued that the implementation of the guideline is costly and impractical.TIB said although the number of warehouse inspections has gone up, the quality of the inspections has not been enhanced.The commerce ministry is formulating a guideline to run subcontracting but there has not been any timeline for its submission.The report said two committees were formed to sort out the disagreement between Rajuk and the local government bodies in approving building designs, but the committees are not able to play an effective role due to political interference.Rajuk has introduced electronic system to accept online application for design approval. Still, the process is not graft-free, it said.The city development authority has also failed to take any steps in appointing experts for scrutinising building designs.The report said factory owners are also not sending workers’ attendance sheets and salary registers to BGMEA regularly.More than 17,000 garment workers were rendered jobless after 32 factories were permanently closed and 21 factories temporarily closed following inspections from the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).But steps were not taken to re-employ them, according to the report.BGMEA is also sidestepping its duty to develop a database for garment workers on the excuse of lack of funds, said the TIB reIt also said BGMEA has continued to realise additional incentives from the government using various excuses and political influence.Since the collapse of Rana Plaza, the Alliance, the Accord and BUET have inspected respectively 584, 1,103 and 647 factories.But the buyers are not participating in the post-inspection reform activities, which is a threat to the whole initiative, said the report, adding that the buyers’ groups are also bypassing their commitments to help subcontractors.TIB said most of the buyers had agreed to increase prices of the products they source from Bangladesh in order to contribute to improving working environment in the factories and ensuring labour rights.The increase in the cost is too low. Besides, 30 percent of the work orders were cancelled in the last one year, in response to the rise in product price.The anti-corruption body said there has been no list of those who have been compensated. There were also allegations of lack of transparency in fixing the compensation amount and procrastination in disbursing the sum.It said 14 retailers, such as Lee Cooper, JCPenny, Matalan and Carrefour that were linked the Rana Plaza did not contribute any money to the Rana Plaza Donors’ Trust Fund.On the legal side, the Criminal Investigation Department has not submitted two probe reports linked to two cases on Rana Plaza.TIB recommended formation of a separate ministry for ensuring governance in the garment sector as well as a public sector board for ensuring timely completion of various initiatives.A fund has to be formed to ensure compliance at subcontracting factories and small factories, it said.A workers’ welfare fund has to be formed with 1 to 1.5 cents from the selling price of per piece of garment. The ratio of buyers and factory owners might be 75:25.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/mixed-results-rana-plaza-steps-tib-78573

The living condition of the families of many deceased and injured workers of Rana Plaza is worse than it was prior to the fateful event two years ago, the Centre for Policy Dialogue said yesterday.The private think-tank, however, said there has been progress in various areas, including disbursement of financial support to the families of deceased and surviving workers, re-employment of workers and medical care. Positive reinforcements also came by in case of workplace safety and labour rights, the CPD said in the fourth edition of its monitoring report on the initiatives taken by the government, owners and other stakeholders in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza collapse.Khondaker G Moazzem, additional research director of CPD, unveiled the report at a dialogue, which also marked the two-year anniversary of the event that claimed at least 1,138 lives, making it the worst industrial disaster in the nation’s history.“Many of the injured victims are still suffering from various kinds of physical and mental problems. They have spent a significant amount of money for the treatment and many of them are constrained by inadequate financial capacities,” said Moazzem.As a result, their socio-economic conditions remain worse than they were before the fatal event, he said citing a telephonic interview with 12 victims. At the dialogue, two injured survivors and a spouse of a worker were brought in to share their current state of living. Injured Jesmin said she would earn Tk 10,000-Tk 11,000 a month by working at one of the five garment factories housed at the ill-fated building.A single mother, she led a decent life with her only child, until her spinal cord snapped in the events that transpired on April 24, 2013. She had undergone treatment for five months.“Till date I feel sick. I cannot work for my physical condition and trauma,” she said, adding that she has received a total of Tk 60,000 only in compensation.“Is it my just compensation?” she asked, adding that she has to spend Tk 3,000-4,000 a month for treatment and medicine.Monowara Begum said she had received only Tk 20,000 after the death of her husband, a construction working at the site at the time of the disaster.CPD, in its report, said the amount of financial support received by victims and their families is insufficient for their needs. But considerable progress has been made in terms of disbursement of financial support.So far, victims were given 70 percent of the sanctioned money, said CPD.“There are some progresses. But still some jobs are undone,” said Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of CPD.The think-tank said the injured workers are getting treatment facilities through various initiatives but workers living in remote areas especially outside of Dhaka face difficulties in availing the benefit.A total of 2,122 workers have been re-employed up to the second year.A number of surviving workers started their own businesses since the deadly event, and they face different kinds of difficulties in operating their businesses, Moazzem said.With regards to factory inspections, after a slow start substantive progress was made in the second year, according to CPD.As of April 2015, the number of garment factories assessed for structural safety has risen to 2,703, which is 77 percent of the total of 3,500 factories.“Bangladesh’s apparel sector has undergone noteworthy restructuring and reforms over the last two years. There are already signs of positive changes in all areas — ranging from improved support to the victims to the development of the sector.”Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmmed, assistant executive director of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, however, expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in trials of the persons responsible for the deadly chapter.“South Korea has ensured justice within one year of the ferry disaster. But we could not do it in two years.”Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Exporters Association of Bangladesh, said 700 factories located in shared or converted buildings have shut down due to international retailers’ unwillingness to place orders in such structures.He also urged the retailers to pay higher to ensure compliance.Mikail Shipar, secretary of the ministry of labour and employment, said the financial support given to the victims was given as compensation, not as charity.A total of Tk 183 crore, including assistance from the Prime Minister’s Relief and Welfare Fund, has been disbursed, Shipar said.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/many-rana-plaza-victims-worse-cpd-78572

Rana Plaza victims are disappointed with the compensation paid by Italian clothing company Benetton as the fund remains 6.5 million euros short of its 27.5-million-euro target. They had called upon Benetton to make up the sum. According to a report published in global news media RFI, Benetton recently has paid one million euros into a fund for victims of the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh. The announcement comes a week before the second anniversary of the factory building collapse that killed more than 1,100 workers and injured twice that number. The Italian firm is the latest big Western fashion retailer that sourced clothing from the eight-storey building in Dhaka to donate to a fund set up by the UN’s International Labour Organisation. But campaigners are disappointed that the fund remains 6.5 million euros short of its 27.5-million-euro target. They had called upon Benetton to make up the sum. “It’s really disappointing,” Nayla Ajaltouni, coordinator with French non-profit organisation Ethique sur l’Etiquette, which campaigns for better working conditions for garment workers, told RFI. “It’s four million less than the calculation that civil society groups made on the basis of Benetton’s production in Bangladesh and their financial capacities.” Benetton said it had given the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund twice the sum suggested by professional services group PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which Benetton commissioned to assess its contribution. It said the specially commissioned report would be publicly available. “While there is no real redress for the tragic loss of life we hope that this robust and clear mechanism for calculating compensation could be used more widely,” Marco Airoldi, Benetton chief executive, said in a statement. Ajaltouni regretted their calculation was “not transparent” adding that Benetton had “a responsibility, as a transnational actor benefitting from economic globalisation”, to compensate more. Benetton’s contribution comes after more than a million people around the world signed a petition on the campaigning site Avaaz calling for the Italian label to donate alongside other Western brands linked to the worst accident the clothing industry has seen. Avaaz’s campaign director, Dalia Hashad told RFI that while she welcomed Benetton’s gesture, she expected more. “Thousands of people lost their lives or had their lives completely destroyed and what we really needed to see from Benetton was that they embraced the values that they publicly hold out to the world,” she said. “That they would consider these people who make their clothes part of the Benetton family. We would have liked them to take a leadership position in providing stronger compensation to really sell the fund.” Hashad said she hopes Benetton’s example, just a few days before the second anniversary of the tragedy, will encourage other brands with links to Rana Plaza to pay into the fund. “From Carrefour, Walmart and the Children’s Place to JC Penney, all of them have either not given a cent or need to give more, so that’s what we hope to see in the coming days.” Victims are beginning to benefit from compensation. “While we’ve lost trace of some of the victims who returned to their region of origin, globally the first round of compensation has been completed, which is a big victory,” Aljatouni explained. But twos years down the line some survivors are marked for life, unable to work because of their injuries but also barred from working due to discrimination, Hashad said.

Source: https://www.observerbd.com/2015/04/21/84674.php#sthash.VhsDxE3o.dpuf

The RMG sector has long proved itself to be a boon for Bangladesh. It is the mainstay of its economy, facilitating its sustained 6%-plus GDP growth over the years. Despite the epic growth of our RMG industry and its bright prospects, challenges are still there. One of the biggest challenges currently faced by our RMG industry is to ensure workplace safety and better working conditions for the millions of garment workers. While we were embarking on a fashionable dream to export $50bn by 2021, the industry was shaken by the Rana Plaza disaster. Last month, I returned to Bangladesh from Turin, Italy, having finished my post-graduate diploma. I went there on a fellowship and had the opportunity to meet 30 nationals from five continents of the world. I entered the campus with lofty thoughts about Bangladesh’s second position in RMG exports. The very next day in the orientation, when I introduced myself as a Bangladeshi national, all of my coursemates and teachers from the UK, New Zealand, and Ireland rushed to me and asked about Rana Plaza. Most of them don’t even know of our prime minister, or the famous Shakib Al Hasan. They don’t know about our mangrove forest the Sundarbans, or our longest sea-beach Cox’s Bazar, or even our historic independence. But they all know about the tragic accident at Rana Plaza. I was astonished. I told them that Rana Plaza can’t be the only example. We have so many success stories about our RMG. Every foreigner I’ve met asked me eagerly: “What about Rana Plaza? Is everything okay?” I am afraid, and wonder if the whole world thinks of Bangladesh in this way, what will be our future image be? At present, factory owners are more aware than they were earlier. There is some hope that Accord and Alliance have commented that, with regards to safety, Bangladesh’s RMG sector has improved a lot. But it has a long way to go in case of ensuring proper work environments and complete safety for employees. The McKinsey summer report 2014 found that Bangladesh remains at the top of the list of apparel-sourcing markets, and is expected to grow further in importance in the next few years. As per their forecast in 2011, Bangladesh was on the radar of all European and US apparel buyers, and is likely to grow nearly three times by 2020. It is high time for us to ensure complete safety in every RMG unit to regain the global image of the country, and its ultimate impact definitely extends to the RMG industry. Bangladesh is now on the watch-list. International buyers and consumers would like to see effective steps in place to help avert a new tragedy. Because of a few grossly non-compliant operators, the whole sector is getting a bad name, and as such, running the risk of losing markets. Under such circumstances, restoring the image of the country’s RMG sector is now an urgent national task. The government, apparel owners, workers’ representatives, and all others do need to urgently put in their joint efforts to facilitate the sustained development of the industry. Although, the Rana Plaza and Tazreen disasters were the most unfortunate things to happen in the history of our industry, these two incidents were significant wake-up calls for us — a call for a turn-around and rebuilding the industry, a call for ensuring the safety of our workers, and of ourselves. There has been a paradigm shift in the mindset of entrepreneurs. Tremendous progress has been achieved in safety inspection, awareness, and other occupational safety and health issues. So, what is our ultimate responsibility to make our garments industry secure? I think the time has come to rethink things, and there is no alternative but to ensure environmental and workers’ safety in the apparel industry for long-term sustainability. By ensuring safety through combined initiatives from both ends — garments entrepreneurs and the government — educating our mid and top level management, and creating home-grown talents through skill-based hands-on experience, we can avoid such unexpected incidents. Market diversification and duty-free market access by itself does not ensure sustainability of the sector, because many global buyers have said that they are not inclined to import clothes stitched by the blood of innocent workers.

Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/op-ed/2015/apr/21/rana-plaza-still-our-shame

A total US$ 30 million, after the deduction of amounts received from Prime Minister Welfare fund, is required for full payment of compensation to the Rana Plaza injured workers and the family members of deceased and missing workers, said the International Labour Organisation (ILO) yesterday. That includes claims of New Wave Bottom workers paid separately by Primark, as well as long term medical care and allied costs for injured workers. The estimated amount also includes an estimation of potential supplementary payments, reports UNB. So far, the amounts either received in the Trust Fund or spent otherwise for the benefit of Rana Plaza workers and expected to be recognized as contribution to the Trust Fund total approximately $ 24 million, it said. The remaining 30 per cent of awards will be paid to the claimants as soon as funds become available at the Trust Fund. On April 8, the Rana Plaza Claims Administration has made available approximately Tk 31 crore to eligible claimants. Payments were made to injured workers, dependants of the deceased and missing workers of Rana Plaza building collapse. Tk 31 crore, which is approximately 30 per cent of total awards, was paid out through Dutch Bangla Bank accounts to 2,968 eligible claimants, including 2,277 dependants from deceased workers, 282 dependants of missing workers and 409 injured workers. The above payment is in addition to 40 per cent payment of all awards after deduction amounting to approximately BDT 29.40 crore which was paid through Dutch Bangla Bank accounts to 2,770 eligible dependants of deceased and missing workers and to injured person in five separate installments from September to December 2014. In addition, approximately Tk 15.50 crore was paid through bKash as initial payment to injured workers, dependants of the deceased and missing workers as well as non-injured workers on 23 April 2014. These payments are authorised by the multi-stakeholder Rana Plaza Coordination Committee, and paid out of the Trust Fund set up for the purpose of providing compensation to the Rana Plaza injured and the families of the deceased and missing workers. With these payments, in total approximately Tk 76 crore, equivalent to $ 9.85 million has so far been paid to the Rana Plaza injured workers, dependants of the deceased and missingworkers. This amounts to 70 per cent of the total awards approved by the Commi-ssioners, after deduction of amounts paid to the injured and families of the deceased and missing workers from Prime Minister Welfare Fund and initial payment of Tk 50,000 from the Trust Fund. The total amount for all issued awards is approximately Tk 126 crore equivalent to $ 16.4 million. As part of the entitlement under the ILO Convention 121, the Coordination Committee is about to finalise an arrangement for long-term medical care and allied costs for the injured workers. A total of 2871 claims have been received from the Rana Plaza injured workers and dependants of deceased and missing workers. Out of these, 2839 claims have been reviewed by RPCA, approved by the Commissioners, and authorised for payments. The remaining 32 claims plus approximately 20-30 additional deceased claims that may yet be filed will be included in the final instalment.
Source: https://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=255456:70pc-of-payments-cleared&catid=108:business-finance&Itemid=152