EU wants Bangladesh to act on labour rights as pledged

TBS Illustration

Bangladesh should increase the pace of implementing the commitments on labour rights included in the National Action Plan (NAP) and ILO road map, and continue to report regularly on progress achieved in line with the timelines provided, the European Union says.

It iterates its key concerns on human rights and wants the authorities in Bangladesh to improve in the areas of freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and civil society space. Cases of alleged torture, ill-treatment, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances should be investigated, says a release of European Commission, the EU's executive wing, on 21 November.  

The EU's renewed call on rights issues comes at a time when the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC alerted the commerce ministry to the possible consequences of the latest US labour rights policy. There are reasons to believe that Bangladesh may be one of the targets of the recently-released US memorandum on labour rights and the issue should be "taken into cognizance with priority," said the embassy's letter dated 20 November.  

In its document released from Brussels, the EU wants full implementation of the recommendations of the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) including abolition of the death penalty, as well as the conclusions of UN treaty monitoring bodies.

It appreciates Bangladesh's ratification of ILO Convention on minimum age, finalisation of National Action Plan on the Labour Sector (NAP), and regular reporting every six months on the progress of the implementation.

"Through various amendments to its legislation and finetuning its approach to implementation, in the reporting period Bangladesh achieved some gradual improvements with respect to labour rights," it says.

But concerns remain in areas like freedom of association, trade union establishment and labour inspection, it says, pointing out that almost 200 vacant posts of labour inspectors, making up for about one third of the existing posts, remain unfilled though the government committed to fill 942 additional posts for labour inspectors by the end of 2023.

"The Government should step up its efforts to investigate and prosecute alleged cases of violence and harassment against workers and their representatives," it says.

At the same time, limited progress was recorded for human rights, where concerns persist for alleged torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances, as well as for deficiencies regarding freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the civil society space and the application of the death penalty, it notes.

Significant attention from global powers and orgs

The upcoming parliamentary election is drawing significant attention from global powers and organisations. International bodies, such as the United Nations and various human rights organisations, are closely monitoring the unfolding political events, emphasising the importance of a fair electoral process.

At home, the BNP and several other opposition parties have been enforcing blockades and hartals, staunchly opposing the election being held under the current government as they demand that the national polls be conducted under a neutral caretaker administration.

This EU document comes a little over a month before the election.

This is the second joint Staff Working Document on enhanced engagement, which started in 2017, with the EU's three GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) beneficiary countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia and Myanmar. Bangladesh is the largest beneficiary of the EU's "Everything But Arms" (EBA) arrangement.

Garment leaders reactions

Syed Nazrul Islam, first vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told The Business Standard, "The issues raised in the EU report are not true in the case of the garment sector. Because our garment sector follows local labour laws and labour laws have been enacted in accordance with the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)."

He further mentioned, "Foreign brands purchase garments from here only after ensuring compliance with their code of conduct." He said, "There is no harassment or anti-trade union work in the garment sector, there is no scope for child labour or forced labour in the garment sector."

He said, "The government should find out if there are any problems in other sectors outside the garment sector and take steps to solve them at a rapid pace. So that the garment sector does not face problems due to problems in other sectors."

While stressing the full compliance with the GSP relevant international conventions, the Commission's also reminds Bangladesh's authorities that its graduation from LDC status, expected in 2026, would imply moving from the EBA arrangement to standard GSP, a scheme that offers low and lower-middle income countries a partial or full removal of customs duties on two-thirds of tariff lines.

Under the special EBA scheme, Bangladesh as an LDC currently enjoys duty-free, quota-free access to the EU market for all products except arms and ammunition.

Countries under scanner

Enhanced agreement puts Bangladesh, along with Myanmar and Cambodia, under the EU scanner for constant monitoring on the 15 core human rights and labour rights international conventions listed in the GSP Regulation.

Regarding Myanmar, the EU announced its position condemning the 2021 military coup in the strongest terms.

Cambodia has been under partial withdrawal of EU trade preferences for selected garment and footwear, travel goods and selected sugar products since 2020. Under the GSP rules, the partial withdrawal will be in place until the reasons that led to it no longer apply.

"In the case of Bangladesh, the enhanced engagement process allowed for constructive bilateral exchanges on labour rights," the latest staff working document clarifies.

"In this context, it is important that Bangladesh can demonstrate that it meets its obligations under the GSP regulation, in particular, the labour rights reforms under the National Action Plan and the respect of international human rights standards," reads the document, stating that the EU will continue to closely monitor the implementation of Bangladesh's GSP commitments.

It also refers to the EU's high-level mission's extensive engagements with Bangladesh's officials and stakeholders in Dhaka in November.

EU delegation ask about lag in ensuring rights 

During the visit of the EBA mission from the EU to Bangladesh on 12-16 November, they inquired about the reasons behind Bangladesh's lag in implementing labour rights and the National Action Plan. The EU has not yet released the mission's report.

Following the meeting with the EBA mission, Labour Secretary Md Ehsan-E-Elahi disclosed that 7-8 points from the ILO recommendations were not incorporated into the amended labour law approved by the parliament. "The EU seeks an explanation, and we have informed them that these points will be included in future amendments to the labour law."

On that day, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said the meeting addressed workers' dissatisfaction with the government-fixed minimum wage, along with concerns related to labour rights and human rights.

BKMEA leader says is working on issues

Executive President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association Mohammad Hatem told TBS that Bangladesh is actively addressing the concerns outlined in the EU report, particularly those related to labour rights. Numerous laws and regulations, including amendments to labour laws, are undergoing changes as part of this ongoing effort.

"It is not possible to change everything overnight. We conveyed this during our meeting with the EU. The government, factory owners, and workers will collaborate to address and develop the necessary areas," he stated.

Mohammad Hatem added that Bangladesh has addressed many issues from the ILO conventions which Vietnam and Cambodia have not done. He also mentioned that due to the Ukraine-Russia war and the challenges posed by the Covid-19 situation, there has been a delay in implementing the National Action Plan.

Exports to the EU also grew faster than Bangladesh total exports to the world, amounting to €23.9 billion in 2022, up by 53.5% compared to 2021.    

The EU's share of Bangladesh's exports reached 51.8% in 2022, making the EU the most important export market by far. Apparels accounted for more than 90% of total exports to the EU in 2022.

"Virtually all Bangladeshi exports to the EU take place under the EBA preferences, and utilisation rates have consistently been 95% or higher," the EU document says.