Improving garment worker safety
THE situation in Bangladesh is complex and challenging. The 700 factories that make products for the Alliance member companies are only a small fraction of the roughly 5,000 factories in Bangladesh's ready-made garment industry. Rapid industry growth and urbanization have led to factories sprouting up in apartments and other places that are ill-suited to large-scale garment production and make unauthorized sub-contracting even more dangerous than usual. There are too few government inspectors, labor laws have been too weak for too long, and recent political instability has taken attention away from focusing on worker and factory safety.
Over the past several months, technical experts from the Alliance, ILO, the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, and BUET worked together to develop a common Fire Safety and Structural Integrity Standard that is being used for factory inspections in Bangladesh, demonstrating that all parties can come together to drive change. Efforts such as these must continue amongst government, civil society, and business if we are to improve fire and structural safety conditions for the long-term.
For its part, the Alliance emphasizes building local capacity to empower workers. Garment workers bring unique insights into potential safety issues and must feel comfortable raising any concerns to factory management without fear of retribution. We have surveyed and interviewed more than 3,200 Bangladeshi workers in 28 factories to hear their input on factory safety issues. We plan to collaborate closely with worker representatives to share factory improvement plans and alert them immediately to any urgent safety issues. An anonymous, 24-hour helpline will help workers raise safety issues before they become emergencies, enabling two-way communication and providing a platform for education.
Despite the circumstances, Bangladesh is starting to see tangible progress. To date, fire safety, structural and electrical inspections have been completed in 222 Alliance factories (31 perent). (Alliance member companies have committed to inspect 100 percent of all member-approved factories by July 2014.) A number of factories that produce products for Alliance member companies are already installing some of the first industrial fire systems in the country. Thanks to new fire doors, sprinklers and smoke detection systems, tens of thousands of garment workers in Bangladesh are benefitting from a safer work environment.
While the situation is complex, one thing is clear - improving safety in the Bangladesh garment industry cannot be done unilaterally. Collaboration amongst all those who share responsibility for garment factory safety is the way forward. The work won't be done overnight – solutions will take time to adopt and sustain, and we all must be dedicated to achieving results that will set a new standard for Bangladesh garment industry workers. Our ultimate goal is to help ensure that safe workplaces in Bangladesh become the rule, not the exception, for all women and men employed in the Bangladesh ready-made garment industry. We are committed to working together to help implement lasting solutions.
The writer is a former under secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, and is currently the independent chair of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.
© The Hill.
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