31pc initiatives implemented: TIB

STAR file photo

Thirty-one percent initiatives undertaken following the Rana Plaza disaster has been implemented over last one year while another 60 percent have some level of progress, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said today.
The rest nine percent that covers areas like setting up of a separate ministry for the sector, raising compensation significantly, stopping random sacking of workers, pressing for trade unions and setting up a central database of workers has been no improvement, it said.
Various stakeholders including the government and private sectors undertook 102 initiatives for safety of the country’s over 4 million garment workers.
"We are pleasantly surprised to see how Bangladesh, despite all challenges, made positive strides in improving working conditions and protecting workers rights," TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman told reporters at a press conference at a hotel in the capital.
"But we don't see much-needed progress in the areas that can ultimately give a long-term security and long due rights to the garment workers," he said.
"If we can't do it, the sector will continue to remain as a sector of exploitation."
On the basis of newspaper reports, the anti-graft movement said about 25 factories were shut down in the last one year, rendering 50,000 workers jobless.  
"We can see a deficiency of accountability among buyers. If this trend continues and if the buyers fail to conduct responsible and ethical business, thousands more will lose jobs," Iftekharuzzaman warned.