BGMEA vehemently disputes US senator’s report on garment workers

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has protested a report of US Senator Robert Menendez on labour rights and safety in the country's apparel factories.

Last week, Menendez, who sits on the committee on foreign relations in the Senate, submitted a report to the committee titled "Seven Years after Rana Plaza, Significant Challenges Remain", expressing concerns over the welfare of the workers in the garment industry.

"I believe that we need to address all your concerns with as much accuracy and transparency and with our best intent to try and change the general narrative on labour practices in Bangladesh," said Rubana Huq, president of the association, in a letter to Menendez on Monday.

"It's common to begin any conversation and report with a tragedy. It's also true that repetitive reference to a national tragedy often belittles all the progresses that have been achieved and lessons that were learnt often undervalued," she said, referring to Rana Plaza collapse.

More than 1,100 Bangladeshis were killed and thousands injured when Rana Plaza caved in on April 23, 2013 in the nation's deadliest industrial incident.

A tripartite Readymade Garment Sustainability Council (RSC) has been formed in Bangladesh, comprising six representatives from workers, brands and the industry each.

"As far as safety remediation is concerned, we have accepted all external recommendations and have brought revolutionary changes in all aspects of safety in record speed, and thus have proved ourselves worth of any stakeholders' confidence," the letter said.

The report of the ActionAid deserves further clarification as the sample size of the interview-based report seems over-generalised, it said. 

The association called for more substantiated details about physical abuse and mistreatment of a worker named Shopna interviewed in the report.

Trade union activist Kalpana Akter's allegation of rape of a female worker should have been brought to the attention of the association instantly for taking action, the letter said.

Responding to the allegation of harassment and low wage payment, the association said the workers of Youngone are paid well above the nationally set minimum wage of Tk 8,000.

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh receives regular phone calls from workers about occupational health and safety.

The RSC will address these calls from everyone, including non-Accord and the Nirapon factory safety programme, the BGMEA said. The Accord received 36 calls in 2019 and 2020, the letter said.

On the complaint of termination of workers by 104 garment factories in December 2018, the letter said a committee was formed in May last year to assess the appropriateness of the number of terminated labourers and filed cases and to find justified solutions.

Bangladesh amended the labour laws and increased the minimum wage for garment workers in 2018.

"There have been many good practices in the industry," the platform said. For instance, the BGMEA has rolled out a mental health awareness programme in 50 factories.

The BGMEA visits factories to ensure that a five-member anti-sexual harassment committee is set up. It has visited 1,221 factories so far. In Dhaka and Chattogram, where most of the factories are located, 453 and 17 factories have respectively established the committee.

The association has piloted an e-wallet to allow workers to go cashless, adding ease and convenience to their lives. The project will be initiated by June this year.

Besides, more than 100 garment workers are studying at the Asian University for Women in Chattogram. These workers are supported with their wages by the entrepreneurs, while many generous donors also contribute to their academic pursuit.

The first batch would graduate on May 9, the letter also said.

"With 4.4 million workers, we may have isolated incidents happening, as is the case anywhere else in the world including the US. But from our end, I assure you, our positioning will not be one of defence. Rather, we would like to correct what has gone wrong," Huq said.

She called on the senator to share his findings with the BGMEA in detail.