Buyers want a regulator to ensure safety at factories

Garment importing countries want a strong regulatory body soon to ensure workers' rights and safe working conditions at Bangladeshi factories, in line with international labour standards.
Foreign diplomats in Dhaka also warned that “this (Savar building collapse) may be the last opportunity for Bangladesh to improve safety of workers."
“There is now discussion all over Europe whether they will continue to buy Bangladeshi garment products… I think they will continue to buy, but this time there may be serious warning from foreign countries to enhance wage and work conditions in factories,” said a diplomat of a European country.
“Though it's not the job of the foreign countries to create pressure on the government to form such a regulatory body, as a friend of Bangladesh I am talking about this,” said a diplomat of a European country, which imports a huge quantity of garments from Bangladesh.
“We really don't want the international community, especially the EU, to take trade action,” the envoy said, asking not to be named.
There are lots of unfortunate incidents in many other sectors in Bangladesh, but the garment is in the focus because of a number of deadly incidents including fire and building collapse, the diplomat said.
The diplomat said the successive governments did not take any step to establish a regulatory body although the private sector flourished heavily in the last two/three decades.
The ministries of industries, commerce, labour and manpower and Rajuk never shoulder blame of any building collapse or fire incident that killed hundreds of workers, the diplomat said.
Asked whether the foreign buyers have any responsibility to ensure safety of workers, another European diplomat said it is not the duty of the foreign companies to supervise the construction of a building and check what materials are being used in construction.