Implement labour laws to ensure workplace safety

Speakers at a programme on Sunday urged the government to take necessary steps to implement labour laws properly in the country in order to ensure workplace safety

To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, they stressed strengthening the monitoring and safety measures in factories for ensuring decent workplaces for workers and announcing minimum wages for workers in different sectors.

They also underscored the need for bringing workers under the social safety net, developing the technological skills of workers and removing all barriers to trade union activities in different industries.

Speakers made the observations at a roundtable, titled “Ten years of Rana Plaza tragedy: Present situation of garment workers and way forward”, at Hotel Bengal Blueberry in Dhaka.

The roundtable was jointly organised by the Bangladesh Textile and Garment Workers League (BTGWL), United Federation of Garments Workers (UFGW), Bangladesh Revolutionary Garments Workers Federation (BRGWF), Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF), and National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF).

BTGWL President ZM Kamrul Anam moderated the discussion presided over by NGWF President Amirul Haque Amin while UFGW representative Shehely Afroz Lovely presented the keynote.

“We expect that the incident of the Rana Plaza collapse will not be repeated in Bangladesh in future. The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments should be more active to ensure safety in factories,” said Neeran Ramjuthan, program manager of Labour Administration and Working Conditions wing of ILO Dhaka office.

“ILO has been working in Bangladesh to ensure decent workplaces for workers in industries for a long time. We will continue our support to ensure the rights of the workers. We have to focus on the safety and health issues in all industries, not only the RMG sector,” he said.

At the event, Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh Winnie Estrup Petersen said open discussion between government representatives, employers, and employees is very important to make a decent society. “Trade unions are the backbone of our society. Social dialogue should be strengthened in Bangladesh. The trade union is very important here,” she added.

Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexandra Berg von Linde said their country has a history of 140 years of the trade union. “The scope of negotiation with all parties is needed in all sectors. Sweden is working to develop a partnership with Bangladesh in terms of economic and social development,” she said.

Director of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies Nazma Yesmin said there is no alternative to improving the living standard of workers in Bangladesh to achieve SDGs by 2030.