The government has decided to increase the punishment and fines for the violation of the labour law and the fire and building safety code, in a bid to regain GSP facilities of local export in the US market.
A senior commerce ministry official, seeking anonymity, said: “Commerce minister GM Quader formed a 13-member committee on Sunday, which will advise to amend existing laws and rules.”
He also said the newly formed committee, headed by commerce ministry Joint Secretary Atiqur Rahman, will submit its recommendations within 15 days.
The committee also includes representatives from the labour ministry, housing and public works ministry, National Board of Revenue, Export Promotion Bureau, factory inspection department and Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha.
The government is now working on executing the 16-point action plan laid out by the United States Trade Representative (USTR), through inspections of the standards of labour, fire and building safety at the RMG factories, export processing zones and shrimp sectors.
An international working group will be formed to introduce the labour law in the export processing zones under the action plan, while the government also plans to lift restrictions on the registration of two NGOs – which work on implementing the labour standards.
Besides, the registration of trade unions will begin soon, according to commerce ministry sources.
The US government suspended the GSP facilities to Bangladeshi exporters on June 27, for the failure to maintain international labour standards.