EU expresses frustration over implementation of labour rights roadmap

The visiting European Union mission on labour rights has expressed its frustration as Bangladesh failed to implement the recommended roadmap to address labour rights and safety issues in the RMG sector.

The mission, led by Jordi Curell Gotor, made the reaction in a meeting with the two trade bodies – the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) – at the Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh office in the capital's Gulshan on Tuesday. 

The EU figured out the failures in achieving the expected improvements in the work environment, labour inspection and factory remediation in the RMG sector.

Besides, it expressed disappointment over the non-functional Remediation Coordination Cell – a national initiative that monitors and coordinates the factory remedial works –  the complex process of forming trade unions, and pending amendments of different laws related to labour rights. 

The issues are also due to be discussed in the scheduled EU mission meetings with government agencies today (Wednesday). 

The mission came to Dhaka on 13 March to inspect Bangladesh's labour and human rights standards to determine the country's eligibility for the trade facility under the Everything but Arms (EBA) regime.

Jordi Curell Gotor, director for international affairs at the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) of the EU and four officials from the EU Directorate-General for Trade and European External Action Service also took part in the mission. 

"We presented the implementation progress [of the roadmap] which we achieved before the mission. We also explained why we failed to achieve expected improvement in several areas," Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, vice president of the BKMEA, told the Business Standard. 

The mission also agreed with us that implementation of the roadmap was interrupted thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Echoing Shamim, BKMEA Executive President Mohammad Hatem told TBS that the pandemic forced them to postpone the improvement works. 

"We hope the framing of labour rules will be completed by this year and amendment of labour law will start soon. Besides, amendment of the act related to export processing zones is going on," he added, noting that several other issues had been addressed earlier. 

Bangladesh is currently enjoying duty-free access to 27 EU countries for all products except arms. However, the current GSP scheme announced by the EU will end in 2023 and a new scheme in its place will take effect from the first day of 2024.

The EU mission also met with RMG workers' bodies on the same day. In the meeting, the worker leaders said they were facing difficulties in forming factory-based trade unions. Many of the trade unions were yellow, which meant that those were run by factory owners instead of workers, the leaders added.

The workers' representatives urged the European Union to ensure accountability in the RMG sector, as well as help Bangladesh regain the GSP facility.