Savar Tragedy: Needs Involvement, Not Withdrawal

অনলাইন ডেস্ক পঠিত: 182 বার

প্রকাশিত: May 19, 2013 | 2:03 AM

Dr. AK Abdul Momen : The collapse of a 9-story building in Savar (Bangladesh) known as Rana Plaza that housed 4 garment factories plus many shops has cost 1125 deaths and more counting. But good news is; by risking lives the rescuers saved 2,438 people alive, highest in any such accident and Reshma, a 19-year old garment worker was rescued alive after 17 days. Secondly, like that of New York’s great Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire of 1911 which led to improving industrial safety in the U.S., the Savar Tragedy awakened the Bangladesh nation for improving safety of factories and ensuring security of industrial workers.

Rana Plaza was built without proper permit– the owner was permitted to built only a 5 story-building for shops and residential accommodation. The owner added additional floors without proper permit and rented them out for ready-made garment (RMG) factories for brand-name designer clothes that we use in USA, Canada and Europe. This is the second deadliest accident in garment factory in Bangladesh within last few months.

Bangladesh’s main export earner is garments and apparels and more importantly, it employs nearly 4 million workers of which nearly 90% are women. These working women are an important vehicle of women empowerment, education, progress and growth. They contributed to the success of achieving many Millennium Development Goals for Bangladesh and turned it from ‘bottomless basket case’ to a ‘standard-bearer of South Asia’. As a result, fear of rise of terrorism in this country of 150+ million is low.

If owing to such tragedies, the multinational companies (MNCs) stop importing garments from Bangladesh, such may force many of these poor workers that barely make $38 a month, a slave-wage as per Pope Francis will lose their jobs, the only that they have and finding no other alternative, such may help aggravate poverty and frustration leading to failure of achieving the global goal of Rio+20 Conference of last Summer– an equitable and decent future for all. Therefore, New York Times is correct in its editorial (May 5) that “mass exodus of Western companies from Bangladesh is not the answer. What is needed is direct action by international companies to improve working conditions…”.

The Bangladesh government in collaboration with garment employers, workers, manufacturers and exporters (BGMEA), ILO and other stakeholders jointly decided to ensure safety and security of work places and workers so that recurrence of such can be stopped forever. In order to achieve their goals, they met in a series of meetings to identify what needs to be done to prevent such future tragedies. Now it is time for MNCs to join hands as they did in early 1990s.

In early 1990s, it was revealed that many factories in Bangladesh were using child labor and therefore, a series of hearings were arranged in US Congress and Labor Dept. Under the leadership of Senator Tom Harkin and Congressman George Brown, and through dialogue and discussion, the US Labor & Commerce Departments, AFLCIO, AALFI, IFFTU, ICFTU, US garment importing houses, ILO, in collaboration with the Bangladesh government, BGMEA, and other stakeholders jointly resolved the issue and came up with an unique ‘model’ and ‘a humane solution’, a win-win solution for all. The child labor was ended in garment factories, while arrangements were made for their education and apprenticeship. Now it may be time to rise to the occasion again to help improve the safety and security of garment factories in Bangladesh.

Good news is, a high-powered Ministerial Committee has been formed in Bangladesh and they have already ‘sealed’ 18 factories that were identified as risky.

The Bangladesh government in collaboration with other stakeholders including ILO have agreed on a ‘Tripartite Partnership’ and they develop an action plan focusing on the following short and medium term steps:

Submission to Parliament a reform package that would improve protection and practice of fundamental rights, freedom of association and collective bargaining rights as well as occupational safety and health.
Asses by the end of 2013the structural building safety and the fire safety of all active export-oriented RMG factories in Bangladesh and initiate remedial actions, including relocation of unsafe factories.
The tripartite partners call on the ILO to launch a skills and training program for workers who sustained injuries in the recent tragic events at Tazreen Fashions Ltd., Smart Export Garments and Rana Plaza that resulted in disability. In addition, BGMEA and BKMEA (Bangladesh Knit Manufacturers and Exporters) are to redeploy the RMG workers that were rendered unemployed as well as rehabilitate them.
Government will recruit within 6 months, 200 additional inspectors and afterwards, another 800 inspectors and also to develop necessary infrastructure for their proper functioning.
Implement, in full, the National Tripartite Plan of Action of Fire Safety in the RMG Industry in Bangladesh, and extend its scope to include structural integrity of buildings to improve health, occupational and structural safety and other vulnerable sectors, to be identified in consultation with the relevant stakeholders.
The tripartite partners call upon the Better Work Joint Management (ILO/IFC) to immediately start work on the issue. The action plan will include a follow-up mechanism to measure in 6 months’ time, progress made in the implementation of the measures adopted.
Safety must be given the highest consideration by the government, employers and workers in Bangladesh. Those responsible for the tragic events that have occurred in Bangladesh over the past 6 months shall be held accountable. The tripartite partners therefore resolved to increase their efforts to provide every single worker in Bangladesh with a safe work place, and to ensure workers’ rights and representation, regardless of whether that work place may be garment factory, a retail shop or a bank. The ILO expresses its appreciation for the resolve of the tripartite partners.
Tripartite partners and the ILO acknowledge that the challenges are daunting but believe that, if international buyers and brands take increased responsibility for improving working conditions and safety and health and with the active support of development partners and donors, safety can and must be improved in all workplaces throughout Bangladesh.