The quota regime that governed much of the global market for textiles and apparel for more than forty years came to an end in the United States, Canada, and Europe on January 1, 2005. While no Asian countries to date have experienced the mass exodus of jobs that was previously feared, some countries are seeing early signs of weakness in their export numbers, and many stakeholders in the region now recognize the need to develop competitive domestic economic environments that will encourage investment and preserve employment in the post-quota era.

Labour unions, employers and government
In order to respond to this need for an open dialogue among the actors of the industry, The Asia Foundation (TAF) launched, toward the end of last year, a regional project on Building Competitiveness through Economic Reforms in the Garment-Exporting Countries, with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. Through this project, The Asia Foundation, with the assistance of a local consultant, facilitated tripartite meetings among representatives of employers and employees of the ready-made garment (RMG) industry, and public authorities to discuss country-specific agendas for domestic reforms that will enhance the ability of Bangladesh to compete with other nations in maintaining a share of the global garment trade. The eight-month program implemented simultaneously in the three countries builds upon active engagement by the international community involved in this sector.

Consulting with other stakeholders
Prior to organizing the tripartite meetings, The Asia Foundation carried out consultations with a number of stakeholders knowledgeable about and involved in the RMG sector. Discussions were held with representatives of factory owners' associations, labour federations, government departments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), research organizations, and donor agencies for eliciting information on the state of the garment industry in Bangladesh and identifying the key actors in the RMG sector of the country.

The stakeholder consultations and preparatory meetings helped in building rapport with the three parties -- employers, employees and public authorities -- and set the stage for holding the tripartite dialogues. Discussions with them highlighted the key issues and concerns of these groups and provided a basis for shaping the agenda for the tripartite meetings.

This consultation with the other stakeholders also led to the development by The Asia Foundation of a matrix on Who Is Doing What in the RMG Sector. Developing and updating this matrix is an on-going process aimed at keeping track of the main activities that donor agencies, NGOs, civil society, and government departments have undertaken in the recent past or are currently conducting in order to support the garment industry of Bangladesh.

Engaging the actors
In Bangladesh, the program was launched at a pressing time of high tension and deteriorating industrial relation between employers and employees. However, the first tripartite meeting was held on April 3, 2006, with members of labour unions, representatives of business associations and of the main relevant ministries. During the meeting, all sides of the sector agreed upon the importance of creating a venue for an open and constructive dialogue among the main actors.

All parties agreed that since other venues, facilitated by international organizations or organized by the government, are specifically aimed at tackling issues such as labour compliance or labour dispute, these tripartite meetings should avoid such controversial issues to concentrate on building understanding among the three parties and on discussing areas of reform where a consensus may easily be reached. This first meeting was thus designed to enable the three parties to freely exchange views on the status of the industry in general and how to make it competitive under conditions resulting from the expiry of MFA in particular.

In this meeting, the participants identified and discussed key issues that affect the RMG sector. These issues cover a wide range of areas where improvements and reforms have to be made in order to make the garment industry more competitive. These include inadequate infrastructure (e.g. poor quality of roads, railways and ports, and erratic supply of electricity and gas), inefficient and corrupt facilities (e.g. port and customs procedures), insufficient business support (e.g. high bank interest and charges), low level of labour standards and compliance (e.g. low wages and inadequate compensation, unsafe working conditions, low level of productivity and skills, non-implementation of labour laws), and ineffective policy support (e.g. lack of government initiative to promote setting up of backward linkage industries and "garment villages"). On most of these issues, there was consensus amongst the participants and a willingness to work together for the betterment of the industry.

In the second tripartite meeting held on May 22, 2006, prior to discussing potential activities to be carried out to better address the issues identified earlier by the three parties, and in order to avoid potential duplication, The Asia Foundation presented the matrix on Who Is Doing What in the RMG Sector. The participants then suggested a number of activities that The Asia Foundation and other stakeholders could undertake to improve the competitiveness of the RMG sector of Bangladesh. The suggested activities cover a wide range of areas relating to awareness raising, social compliance, training of managers and workers, campaigning for fair prices, institutionalizing tripartite meetings, facilitating discussions with development partners on their projects, etc.

The participants agreed on two activities that The Asia Foundation could conduct or commission as part of its present program in Bangladesh. Acknowledging the fact that creating an informal venue where the three parties could meet on a regular basis to exchange information and discuss issues facing the industry was helping the process of creating a better environment for the industry in Bangladesh, the participants agreed that the first activity should focus on how to continue these tripartite meetings after the end of the current USAID-sponsored program, in July 2006. The second activity consists in "publicizing" the outcome of the tripartite meetings through a series of articles in order to raise awareness about the reality of the situation of the post-MFA RMG sector in Bangladesh.

The third tripartite meeting, held on July 13, 2006, focused on the implementation of these two selected activities. Participants confirmed their will to continue this informal dialogue among the three parties and agreed on general guidelines for continuing the tripartite meetings after the end of the program and discussed the content of the articles to be published. This meeting was also the occasion to invite other stakeholders such as international organizations and NGOs, to present them with the outcome of the tripartite meetings and share views about possible activities.

The series of tripartite meetings facilitated by The Asia Foundation between January and July 2006 have provided an opportunity for the participants to frankly exchange views and discuss difficult and sometimes controversial issues in a professional manner. The participants have been sincere in their efforts to understand the problems confronting the industry in general and each party in particular.

Despite the recent workers unrest and agitation, which often became violent and led to widespread disruptions in many factories, or because of this conflict situation, the participants to the tripartite meetings acknowledge the importance of continuing this informal and constructive dialogue. The participants all clearly stated that these tripartite meetings do not aim to create a venue for negotiation or dispute settlement but rather to establish a regular forum for exchanges and discussion on issues that all parties agree need to be reformed to improve the competitiveness of the Bangladeshi RMG sector in the post-MFA era.

The contents are the responsibility of the tripartite meetings and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.