Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of the USA, has stressed the need for safeguarding and advancing rights of garment workers in Bangladesh.
He made the remark while speaking at the launching of a committee report titled “Worker Safety and Labour Rights in Bangladesh’s Garment Sector” that marked the first anniversary of the Tazreen Fashions factory fire.
The report was revealed at Washington DC on Friday.
“The tragedies in Bangladesh present an important opportunity to improve labour rights and empower workers.
No consumer will want to wear clothing if it’s stained by the blood of innocent workers,” Senator Menendez said.
The report was issued a year after the Tazreen fire that killed 112 workers. In April 2013, the collapse of eight-storey Rana Plaza in Savar near Dhaka resulted in the death of 1,131.
Both the tragedies galvanised world attention towards the plight of garment workers in Bangladesh.
“One year ago, the world woke up to the horror caused by the unsafe working conditions of Bangladesh’s garment workers.
We should not rest until these individuals are given the rights they deserve and the tools they need to protect themselves,” Menendez said.
The report put forward recommendation for the US and Bangladesh governments, the BGMEA, and for apparel brands and retailers.
The Bangladesh government and the BGMEA should immediately develop and implement tough and effective sanctions against factory owners who engaged in anti-union activity, the report suggested.
“The next government of Bangladesh should act quickly to reform existing labour laws, including EPZ labour laws, to bring them into conformity with international labor standards.”
It said apparel brands and retailers should aggressively continue implementing inspection and remediation programs focused on fire and building safety in their suppliers’ factories in Bangladesh.
“Apparel brands and retailers, especially those with very large operations in Bangladesh like Wal-Mart, Gap, and others in the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, should, in coordination with the ILO, launch long-term, well-resourced programs to educate their suppliers of their expectation for compliance with laws allowing the right to organise unions and bargain collectively.”
The US government should hold the Bangladesh government to the highest standards in implementing the GSP action plan, especially provisions pertaining to labour law reform and protecting the freedom of association and the rights to organise and bargain collectively.
The report also recommended the US Department of State place a full-time labour attache´ from the US Department of Labour at its mission in Dhaka.