Social dialogues key to resolving disputes
Social dialogues need to be launched in various industries to empower women and strengthen the country's trade unions, speakers said at a discussion yesterday.
Social dialogues have proven to be key in resolving many disputes in the industrial sector as it helps participants come to amicable solutions.
Besides, factory owners and union leaders should learn to respect each other so that their industries can run smoothly.
"So, we need social dialogues in factories and beyond," said Rubana Huq, former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
"A sound alternative dispute resolution is something that we can collectively think of as a solution," she added.
The former BGMEA chief went on to say that some 1,154 garment factories received loans from a government sponsored stimulus package, which indicates the high number of compliant factories.
However, very few people talk about how to get better prices per unit for garment items.
Another example is how garment shipments from Bangladesh declined by 2.53 per cent in Europe over the last four years but nobody talks about it.
Huq was speaking at a discussion on "Social Dialogue as an Enabling Mechanism for Gender Equality on the Labour Market – experiences from the RMG-sector in Bangladesh", held at The Westin, Dhaka.
The Swedish embassy in Dhaka, International Labour Organization (ILO), and Global Deal, taking into context Team Europe's initiative styled "Decent Work", jointly organised the discussion which was moderated by Tuomo Poutiainen, country director of the ILO.
"We cannot disregard half of the world's population," said Ann Linde, minister for foreign affairs of Sweden.
"We say that the Swedish government is the world's first feminist government, and as foreign minister I lead a feminist foreign policy but what does that mean in this context?" she asked.
"Well, a natural part of this policy is to work for gender equality, including in the labour market," she said.
"In today's globalised economy, globalisation must work for all. Strengthening gender equality in the labour market is not only the right thing to do, it is also the economically smart thing to do in any society," she added.
Agreeing with the importance of social dialogues, Ziaur Rahman, regional country manager of H&M, a major international buyer of apparels, said his company sources garment items from 300 factories in Bangladesh.
All of the factories from which H&M sources locally made garments are strictly compliant and some 10 per cent of the supervisors there are women.
In those factories, there are elected bodies, he said.
Shirin Akter, president of National Workers Alliance, said social dialogues were important for the creation of decent working condition in factories.
China Rahman, women's secretary to IndustriALL Bangladesh Council, a global trade union, said social dialogues were good if they go in the favour of the workers.
Many workers were sacked during the Covid-19 pandemic but very few people talk in their favour, she said.
Begum Shamsunnahar Bhuiyan, executive president of Mahila Sramik League, said healthy trade unions were also needed for social dialogues.
Bangladesh is already a global champion in green garment factories with 152 units, which also indicates the globally accepted compliance practiced by these companies.
Md Shahriar Alam, state minister for foreign affairs, also spoke at the event.
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