European brands to hire 25 local engineers
European retailers will hire 25 Bangladeshi engineers along with international inspectors for evaluating garment factories for structural soundness and fire safety, a top official said yesterday.
“That way we will have an inspection team with a combination of international expertise and knowledge of local circumstances,” Jyrki Raina, general secretary of the IndustriALL Global Union, which was instrumental in drafting in the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, told reporters at a press conference.
His comments come as the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the sector's apex trade body, expressed its strong reservation about the inspection standards of the Accord, particularly about the hiring of foreign inspectors.
Raina said the technical standards for inspection would be the same for the Accord, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and the Bangladeshi partners.
“It is a joint standard for all of us who operate in Bangladesh. It was very important for us to come up with a credible and adequate standard. Otherwise, we don't have credibility.”
“However, we will advance step by step and there will be flexibility. But we will not compromise on the standards because that would mean compromising on the lives of workers.”
Raina said the Accord went through an international tender for recruiting the foreign inspectors, as this was also a question of credibility.
The Accord, which has been signed by 150 brands, would inspect 1,500 factories by September this year. The inspection will start with 30 international inspectors and by next week another 40 would join.
“This will have a profound change, as a pilot inspection last year showed that there are certain problems and there will be a lot of repairs to be done.”
The labour leader said the minimum wage has to increase gradually towards the level of living wages, such that every worker can work reasonable hours and still get a decent living.
“The garment workers are toiling 60 to 62 hours a week in the factories—they don't have any life. This is unhealthy and inhumane, and it is being seen by the consumers around the world.”
He, however, said the 77 percent increase in minimum wage to Tk 5,300, or $67 a month, is a step in the right direction. “But the annual revision of the minimum wage needs to continue.”
The IndustriALL general secretary went on to urge the factory owners not to be afraid of implementing the minimum wage, as wages are increasing in Bangladesh's competitor countries.
“It means Bangladesh will maintain its competitive position. Brands will not move away because of the minimum wage. On the contrary, the brands support the idea of a living wage.”
He said Indonesian workers' minimum wage stands at over $200 a month, both China's and Thailand's $200 and Cambodia's $100. “If we don't care for the workers, there will be social unrest.”
Forty percent of the garment factories are yet to implement the minimum wage, Raina said, citing a recent study by the BGMEA.
“Obviously, this is a problem—we are working on it.”
The union leader said there are changes and amendments in the positive direction under the labour law. “But they are not enough. The labour law in Bangladesh is not compliant yet with the norms
of the International Labour Organisation.”
“As long as this is the situation, the United States will not change its decision on Generalised System of Preference. The European Union is also following the development closely and may take a decision.”
Raina said he would raise all the points during his discussion with the government.
“We will ask the government to continue to work on the labour law reform, especially concerning the export processing zones.”
The IndustriALL general secretary said the global federation union would work to make the country's garment industry safe and sustainable in five years.
He said the government approval for over 100 trade unions, covering 40,000 workers, last year is a positive step.
“This year there will be unions in another 100 factories,” Raina said, adding that the IndustriALL plans to organise training programmes in association with the BGMEA to educate the newly set up trade unions and the factory management representatives on how to create a win-win solution in the workplace.
But setting up trade unions alone is not enough, as factory workers involved in forming unions in the past were unilaterally fired, he said.
Raina also disclosed how the American brands declined to join the Accord.
“The IndustriALL wanted to get the American brands and buyers to the Accord. We worked very hard on that. Wal-Mart never replied. They even participated in one negotiation and they just sat there and said nothing during the two days.”
Wal-Mart is the largest single buyer of Bangladeshi garment products.
Raina said there were some negotiations with another American brand GAP but it finally fell through. Other brands never came forward.
He went on to say that the IndustriALL would conduct a big public campaign to show how unserious the Alliance, a platform of 26 American brands, is.
Sudhershan Rao Sarde, secretary of IndustriALL Global Union for South Asia, Nazrul Islam Khan, president of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council, and Ramesh Chandra Roy, secretary general of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council, were present at the press conference.
Geneva-based IndustriALL Global Union represents 50 million workers in 140 countries.
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