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TIB urged the government to reform the labour law, review the minimum wage of workers to be consistent with the cost of living, push the agenda of a living wage, and remove barriers against the exercise of workers’ right to trade unions and collective bargaining.
“It is in the interest of all stakeholders – brands and buying companies, producers and exporters, employees and workers as well as the government to ensure a safe, workers' rights-based, and sustainable RMG industry that adheres to business integrity and ethical practices. It is time for all stakeholders to work together to achieve this goal,” the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said in a statement on Tuesday.
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy, TIB also has called upon international brands and buyers of Bangladeshi readymade garments (RMG) to conduct business with integrity, especially ethical sourcing, which are the key to sustainability of the sector.
“Exploitative practices of some brands and buyers motivated by short-term profitability at the expense of business integrity together with continued failure of relevant authorities to ensure accountable and workers’ rights-sensitive governance pose the most formidable challenges of sustainability of the industry,” TIB said.
TIB recalled that on April 24, 2013, the collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh resulted in one of the deadliest industrial disasters in history, claiming the lives of over 1,100 workers and leaving more than 2,500 others injured.
The tragedy exposed a range of governance deficiencies, including poor and non-compliant structural and working conditions, inadequate safety standards, denial of labour rights, deficits and violations of labour laws and regulations, and environmental sustainability standards in the country's readymade garment (RMG) industry.
Following this devastating event, national and international stakeholders joined hands to contribute to improving governance and safety standards in Bangladesh's RMG sector.
The statement noted that significant progress has indeed been made in the industry over the past ten years, particularly in regard to structural and fire safety.
Bangladesh now boasts hosting half of the world's top 100 LEED-certified green industrial units, with 187 LEED-certified green factories in operation - all but four of which are in the garment sector, according to the statement.
However, despite such progresses the profit-obsessed RMG industry continues to face the main challenge of transitioning to a workers' rights-sensitive business model, leaving the key concerns of the RMG workers who are the main factor of profitability and sustainability of the industry at bay, it stated.
Practically nothing has happened in ten years to ensure accountability of those responsible for the tragedy and the facilitators and protectors of non-compliance, as per the statement.
In the meantime, compliance with Accord-designed safety standards is now overseen by the Remediation Sustainability Council (RSC), which follows a problem-solving mechanism without much discretion.
On the other hand, the Remediation Coordination Council (RCC), has handed over all responsibilities to the Industrial Safety Unit (ISU) of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), following which inspections have decreased by half in the last fiscal year, while the quality of inspections remains questionable due to alleged corruption. Bribing compliance auditors to overlook non-compliance issues and ignoring important concerns worsens the situation.
Referring to a recent study done by NYU Center for Business and Human Rights, Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of TIB says, “Such exploitative tools used by brands and buying houses are leading to unhealthy competition between producers, facilitating lowest possible pricing through non-compliant sourcing.
“The ultimate burden of such practices is shifted to the workers in the form of low and irregular salaries and benefits,” he said.
Despite the longstanding demand for a living wage for RMG workers, there has been no progress yet, according to him.
Moreover, the minimum wage in Bangladesh remains lower than other RMG exporting countries in the region, for which the exploitative practices of brands and buying companies cannot escape responsibility, said Iftekharuzzaman.
He called upon international buyers to refrain from such practices.