Tofail pledges fast implementation of new labour law

The government will soon finalise a set of rules to implement the amended labour law in factories, as Bangladesh has already fulfilled the majority of the conditions promised in the Sustainability Compact.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed spoke to reporters, returning from the first review meeting of the Sustainability Compact held in Brussels. The meeting ended on Tuesday.

“Our tour was successful as European Commission officials were satisfied with Bangladesh's progress toward ensuring workplace safety and improving labour rights,” Ahmed said.

Bangladesh has fulfilled almost all 16 conditions laid out in the Sustainability Compact, he said, adding that the EC inquired about progress in the implementation of the labour law.

“We will meet with all stakeholders on October 30 at the labour and employment ministry to finalise the rules of the labour law, although the EC officials have urged Bangladesh to finalise the rules by the end of December.”

Worker welfare associations in 217 factories inside export processing zones have been functioning as collective bargaining agents, the minister said about the labour law for EPZs. 

“So, we have also progressed in the EPZ case,” he said. The government has already registered 236 trade unions for establishing labour rights in factories.

The EC did not mention any specific timeframe for the next review of the Sustainability Compact, but it will be at a time take any time convenient for both Bangladesh and the EC.

After the Rana Plaza building collapse in April last year, Bangladesh signed the Sustainability Compact with the European Union involving the ILO (International Labour Organisation), to assure EU of improving workplace safety and labour rights in the country.

Europe is the largest buyer of Bangladeshi products, taking 59 percent of the country's output, worth $14 billion a year, of which around 90 percent are garment items. As part of introducing ILO's Better Work Programme, the government has already started working on improving working conditions in the RMG sector in Bangladesh, Ahmed said.

The inspection of garment factories by foreign agencies like Accord and Alliance was possible due to that effort, which would not be possible in any other country, he said.

Now the Accord and Alliance are saying that more than 98 percent factories of the country are safe, he said.

Bangladesh earned $30.5 billion from exports in the last fiscal year, and looks to be on track to achieve the targeted $33.2 billion this year too, he said.