RMG sector now reformed

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will apprise the envoys of 14 countries next month about what steps the garments owners have taken so far to ensure workplace safety for the apparel workers after Rana Plaza disaster.
The view exchange meeting will be held on April 10 at the BGMEA headquarters in the capital. Besides the Ambassadors and High Commissioners of Europe and North America, representatives from buyers’ forum stationed in Dhaka will also attend the meeting, BGMEA sources said on Thursday. “At the meeting, we will apprise the foreign diplomats of the measures that the industry owners have taken for ensuring a safe workplace in Bangladesh’s apparel industry,” M Shahidullah Azim, second Vice-President of BGMEA told The New Nation yesterday.
The global community earlier expressed its deep concern over the state of workplace safety in local apparel industry after the Rana Plaza collapse that killed 1130 garment workers.
 “We will also inform the diplomats about the welfare schemes which the BGMEA designed for the victim’s families and injured workers of Rana Plaza,” he added.
He added that BGMEA would also reveal to them how much fund they had so far received from the EU companies for payment as compensation.
The BGMEA leader further said, the global community and buyers are monitoring the country’s progress towards full compliance in the RMG sector after the Rana Plaza tragedy. “We are keen to provide a safe workplace for the workers and we are working hard in line with the requirement of the global buyers,” he noted.
He also mentioned that Bangladesh had achieved significant progress in their commitments on safety and security of the workers which came to the scanner of the global community after the Tazreen Fashions fire and Rana Plaza collapse.
 “The issue is also interlinked to retain the GSP facility in the US market,” he said.
 “We have taken a lot of measures to reform the RMG industry and I hope the foreign diplomats and buyers will be satisfied with our steps,” he said.
He also said that BGMEA will also seek support from the EU and the USA in improving working environment in the RMG sector in Bangladesh.
Shahidullah Azim also stressed that the buyers should also consider fair prices of products so that it could enable the exporters to improve work environment and raise the wages further.