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Running head: OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY IN RMG IND. OF BANGLADESH

Occupational Safety Issues in Readymade Garments Industry of Bangladesh

Khandker H. Ahmed

Abraham Lincoln University School of Law

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Abstract

In this assignment, I will write a research paper on “Occupational Safety Issues in Readymade

Garments Industry of Bangladesh.” Thesis statement of this research is "Occupational safety

standards in readymade garments (RMG) industry of Bangladesh must be raised to its

international level." I argued in favor of the statement while outlined possible counter-arguments

that pose great challenge to such amelioration of safety standards in the RMG industries as

practiced in its international level. Also, present Bangladesh labor rules and policies have been

discussed in details. For sources of information, I used textbook and online resources from

Government of Bangladesh, International Labor Organization (ILO), many news articles, among

others.

Keywords: Occupational safety, International Labor Organization (ILO), Occupational

Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Rana Plaza, International, Readymade Garments

(RMG), working environment, compensation etc.

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OUTLINE

Thesis Statement: "Occupational safety standards in readymade garments (RMG) industry of

Bangladesh must be raised to its international level."

I. Introduction

II. Arguments in favor of the thesis statement:

A. Humanitarian crisis in RMG industries of Bangladesh

B. Present working environment in RMG industry requires a major update

C. Tragedy in Rana Plaza Garments and the Aftermath

D. Policy Updates of the Governments of Bangladesh in Occupational Safety and

Health

III. Counter-Arguments and Their Refutations:

A. Foreign Buyers’ Reluctance to Pay Higher Price and Compensation to Victims

B. Industry owners’ profit making attitude

C. Other Impediments to Develop a Safe RMG Sector

IV. International Labor Standards

A. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Labor Standards

B. International Labor Organization (ILO) Response and Its standards

V. Bridging the gap: What Bangladesh RMG industry need to do to raise its safety standards at

the international level.

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VI. Conclusion
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I. Introduction:

Readymade garments (RMG) industry is a key sector in Bangladesh. It is also a key

driver of the Bangladesh economy and its development. In the financial year 2013-14, RMG

exports totaled US$24.5 billion accounting for over 80% of the nation’s export earnings and

employing some 4.2 million workers, 80% of whom are women. However, frequent collapse of

buildings and fire incidents-cum-stampede has cast a dark shadow over the RMG industry of

Bangladesh. For example, the loss of 1,136 lives in Rana Plaza collapsed on 24 April 2013 sent

shockwaves worldwide. Before that the fatal fire at Tazreen Fashions took 112 lives away from

this earth. It is clear that the Bangladesh Ready Made Garment (RMG) sector has reached a

crucial juncture. Fundamental changes relating to safety, inspection and compliance need to be

made if the lives of over four million workers were to be safeguarded and the confidence of

global buyers retained. Thus, occupational safety standards in RMG industries of Bangladesh

must be raised to its international level to ensure a safe working environment, upheld human

rights and foster the productivity level.

I. ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF THE THESIS STATEMENT:

A. Humanitarian Crises in RMG Industries of Bangladesh

According to Khan and Ahsan (2006), the RMG industry in Bangladesh has experienced

an unprecedented growth over the last decade and half. Besides, it promotes the development of

other key sectors of the economy (e.g., textiles, banking, packaging, transportation, insurance

and other support industries). However, when it comes to ensuring a safe work environment, the

picture is a dismal one. Khan and Ahsan (2006) give and grim picture of this unsafe environment

as under:
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Salma, an 18 year old girl has two sons and used to work in a garment factory in Mirpur.

During work, a fire broke out at the factory building. There was a sudden rush of panic

and almost all at once, everyone around her started screaming and rushing about. She

somehow made her way to the main gate, only to find a crowd of her co-workers

gathered there, all screaming for the guards. She then discovered that the main gate was

locked and the on duty guard was nowhere to be seen. Her panic reached its vertex when

she discovered that two girls from her production line had caught on fire. That sight froze

her muscles. She was then confronted with another harsh reality: she could not breathe!

Her lungs finally gave up and she fell to the floor unconscious. She woke up in a hospital,

with bandages all over her body. She had severe fire burns on both her legs and the skin

from hands had separated from the bonus. She will never be able to work again. Aided by

a cane and her two sons, she went back to the factory for compensation. But her name

had mysteriously vanished from the factory's register. She is presently without work due

to her physical disability and does not know how she will feed her two sons.

Even in a normal day, people who work in our garment factories are mostly women and they

have to work in the most hostile of environments. For example, women workers are paid much

less than their male counterparts doing the same work and are sometimes over burdened with

extra work, with little or no overtime. They work in congested, unsafe and unhealthy conditions.

This is the harsh reality for every garment worker in Bangladesh. In most of the fire incidents,

the casualties are high as the factories keep their main gates shut and, as a result, the workers

struggle to make a quick exit during an emergency only to die from stampede at these locked

entry and exit points. Authors estimated that since 1990 about 73 major accidents have occurred
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in the garment factories. Furthermore, many factories even lack fire exits, emergency lights,

searchlight boxes with batteries, enough water to put out fires etc. Almost all the factories violate

the safety rules.

B. Present Working Environment in RMG Industries Requires a Major Update

The Tazreen and Rana Plaza disasters were brought into everyone’s attention the severely

weak and fragile safety working conditions in the RMG factories of Bangladesh at both home

and abroad. It was clear to all that the labor inspectorate required a complete overhaul to be

effective and functional. As a result, the Government of Bangladesh made a series of major

commitments to rebuild the Department of Inspections of Factories and Establishments (DIFE).

For instance, in January, 2014, the inspection service was upgraded to a department, high level

leadership took charge of the department, positions for 392 new inspectors created and budget

increased from US$900,000 in 2013-14 to US$4.1 million in 2015-16 (“Improving working,”

2015).

According to the Daily Star (2013), in a summary of roundtable came about on “Safe

Workplace: Recent Experience and Way Forward” on July13, 2013 published by The Daily Star

and organized by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), the representative of

Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense mentioned that the “main cause of death during a fire

is suffocation.” Many garment factories make holes in every floor in order to throw down their

materials to the ground floor. If the fire breaks out in any of the floors, smoke spreads all over

the building quickly through these holes. He also suggested that factory buildings should install

fire resistant doors that open from both sides to prevent the spread of smoke. In addition, another

participant in the roundtable mentioned that the main cause behind all the major collapse
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incidents was unplanned building construction. It is the duty of an architect to design an

industrial building following the existing building code. Besides, another participant asserted that

violation of human rights and lack of good governance are the key factors behind accidents in

RMG factories. Until recently, Bangladesh had a few inspectors for the inspection of huge

number of garment industries and the fire safety system in these industries was not strong

enough. Although the Labour Law of 2006 has been amended because it was too weak to protect

worker’s safety and health, it still needs way to go for its proper implementation. In many

instances, although personal protection equipment (PPE) is available, the workers do not use

them.

As mentioned earlier, Bangladesh's garment export industry, the second largest in the

world, has been in the spotlight since the collapse of Rana Plaza in a Dhaka suburb in 2013 in

which more than 1,100 people were killed, most of them poor seamstresses. That accident

prompted a review of safety standards in the factories, with many handed lists of structural,

electrical and fire safety fixes and upgrades costing hundreds of millions of dollars. It is

encouraging, however, that a recent news item reported by Quadir (2015) says, “More than 80

percent of Bangladesh's garment factories supplying global retailers have been found to be safe”

because of the improvements made after a deadly 2013 Rana Plaza accident. The inspector

general of factories asserted that 1,475 garment factories had been assessed as part of a

government initiative supported by the International Labor Organization (ILO), Canada, the

Netherlands and United Kingdom and some 81 percent were found to adhere to building codes,

as well as fire and electrical safety standards. Among the other factories, the government has

ordered 37 to be closed for failing to address safety issues on their premises and another 209
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have been warned that they would be closed if they didn't take remedial measures immediately.

The rest await further assessment and possible closure.

Paragraph 5.0.11 (on building and fire safety) of the annual report 2012-13 of the Ministry of

Labor and Employment (MOLE), Government of Bangladesh (2013) states that the document

“National Tripartite Plan of Action on Fire Safety and Structural Integrity in the Readymade

Garment Sector in Bangladesh” has been adopted on 16 March, 2013 signed by the

representatives from Government, owners of the RMGs and the laborers with financial assistance

of US$ 24.2 million from the International Labor Organization (ILO). To implement this

national action plan, ILO has prioritized the following five areas: (1) verification of building and

fire safety, (2) strengthening inspection activities, (3) conduct training related to occupational

safety and health, (4) rehabilitation of disabled and wounded person and (5) implementation of

Better Work Program. Besides, the Directorate of Factories and Institution of the government of

Bangladesh has, as of December 2013, inspected 3498 garments factories to ensure safe working

environment in the RMG factories (“Ministry of labor, 2014). Also, it filed actions in labor court

against 305 factories for violations of labor law. In addition, a study has been undertaken jointly

by the MOLE and the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) to determine area

specific number of RMG factories, number of employees, their problems and their possible

solution to transform this RMG sector into one of the best sectors in the world. Accordingly, the

garment sector’s plan to grow to $50 billion by 2021 is crucial to the nation’s development goals,

given the enormous contribution the RMG sector makes to Bangladesh’s economy and women’s

empowerment.
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C. Tragedy in the Rana Plaza Garments and the Aftermath

Bernicat (2015) has mentioned that the Plaza building collapsed in 2013, crushed workers

and drew the world’s attention to the readymade garment (RMG) sector which lost over 1100

lives in one day. She also has mentioned that tragedies can and should lead to transformation.

Together, we need to build a better and more productive RMG sector and demonstrate to the

world that business success goes hand-in-hand with workers’ rights and safety. The United States

is partnering with the government, the workers, and the employers to show the world that

Bangladesh is working toward new standards for workers’ rights and occupational safety.

Moazzem (2015) has described the Rana Plaza tragedy as the worst ever man-made disaster in

the Bangladesh industrial sector. Despite various measures having been taken over the previous

two years, a large number of issues remain unresolved. While considerable progress has been

made towards the realization of certain measures during this period, the implementation of a

number of measures remains incomplete.

Moazzem (2015) also mentioned that, despite the implementation of various initiatives, the

living conditions of victims and their family members remain below the level enjoyed prior to

the Rana Plaza tragedy. Furthermore, in most cases, their level of income remained below that

which they had previously earned. Many individuals remained unemployed as they are unable to

engage in daily work as a result of their injuries. Victims interviewed reported that they continue

to suffer from a range of physical and mental difficulties. While some individuals have had to

spend significant sums of money on medical treatment over the previous year, others have been

unable to access the necessary treatment due to a lack of personal funds. Most of the victims

have children who require essential services, such as education, which is difficult to provide with
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such limited incomes. Long-term financial support from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund has

been awarded to some of the Rana Plaza victims in the first year of happening. A total of Tk. 25

crore was provided to the families of 976 deceased workers, at Tk. 1-5 lakh per family. In

addition, each of the 41 workers who lost limbs as a result of the incident received Tk. 10-15

lakh in the form of a savings certificate.

In the year two, another important achievement was the establishment of a prosthetics and

orthotics (P&O) School at Savar, Dhaka. The P&O School was supported by the German

Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development under GIZ’s ‘Promotion of Social and

Environmental Standards in Industry’ (PSES) project. According to a survey conducted by

The Village Education Resource Center (VERC), a non-governmental organization in Social

Services, and Save the Children, a total of over 700 children have been affected by the Rana

Plaza tragedy. A large number of these children have received some level of support from local

and international organizations. It is true that, following the Rana Plaza tragedy, short, medium

and long-term initiatives were launched by stakeholders with the aim of improving the lives of

victims and positively developing the Ready-Made Garments (RMG) sector. These initiatives,

however, have had varying levels of impact on the livelihoods of victims and the development of

the RMG sector.

D. Policy Updates of the Governments of Bangladesh in Occupational Safety and Health

Bangladesh Gazette (2015) has put the Rule 16 (3) & (4) of Bangladesh Labor Rules, 2015

which stated that any labor contractor supplying laborers to any institution has to ensure that the

institution follows the rules of relevant occupational safety and health for the laborers. Any

violation will bring both the employer institution and the supplying contractor under law
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accordingly. Also, Rule 17 (1) requires these contractors to open a bank account in the title of

‘Employee Social Safety Find’ to deposit into it one full month’s salary equivalent for each

employee per complete year of service. This fund is used for any incident that needs to be

compensated. In addition, Rule 36 forbids employment of any adolescents in any risky activity

or operation of any dangerous equipment. Rule 37 provides safeguards for the pregnant women

that the employers cannot employ them in any risky enterprise. The employers also have to

arrange for them to breastfeed their babies in a safe environment. Apart from these rules, Rule 53

requires that the employers collect a certificate from the building owner that the building was

constructed following the Bangladesh National Building Codes or the latest other government

issued rules concerned. Also, Rule 54 requires that the employers follow properly the fire safety

provision and that every room occupying more than 20 employees has at least two doors so they

can easily exit during emergency evacuation period. Doors should not be more than 50 meters

far from any employee. It also provides stair safety guidelines in details.

Rule 57 of the Bangladesh Labor Rules, 2015 provides safety guidelines for working with

moving equipment or near such equipment and they employees should be dressed while

operating these machines. Furthermore, Rule 58 provides safety guidelines for electric current

wires and their arrangements inside the workplace so the employees are not exposed to any risk

of injury or death. In addition, Rule 63 imposes limit on carrying weight, nor more than 50kg for

adult men and 30 kg for adult women, Rule 68 gives detail guidelines for eye protection safety

rules, Rule 65 gives details how to keep safe from dangerous smoke or emissions. Chapter 7 of

the Rule provides occupational safety details on health, health rules and securities. Accordingly,

Rules 78 keeps provision to set up health centers, doctors etc. Rule 81 says about forming a

safety committee for any workplace of 50 or more employees and the Appendix-4 gives details
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about it. In Chapter 12 of this Rule big details about compensation in case of accidents are

furnished. This rule is very comprehensive which includes occupational safety and health

requirements for the employers and employees among other things related to the labor market of

Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Gazette (2006) also mentioned that Bangladesh National Parliament passed

the Bangladesh Labor Welfare Foundation Act, 2006 applicable for all workers employed in both

institutional and non-institutional setting including the RMG sector of Bangladesh. The purpose

of this act was to conduct welfare activities of the workers and their families of Bangladesh.

Later, under this act, Government of Bangladesh promulgated the Bangladesh Labor Welfare

Foundation Rules in 2010 which was subsequently amended in 2015. The Foundation, as

established under the act mentioned above, provides financial assistance to the disabled workers,

arrange for rehabilitation or medical treatment who incurred their disabilities or injuries at their

workplace. If the worker dies, his/her nominated family members get financial assistance from

this foundation. Bangladesh Gazette (2013) promulgated another occupational safety and health

principles in 2013. The goal of this document is same as other similar documents as mentioned

above. However, it also ascertained the jurisdiction of these principles to be applied upon, moral

and legal obligations of the parties concerned, stakeholders’ responsibilities (e.g., government

owners or labor union’s responsibilities), and implementation strategies, among others).

According to Bangladesh Gazette (2012), National Labor Policy, 2012 of Bangladesh

also sets its goal at para 4.02.6 for improvement of safe and healthy work environment in the

country to secure life and property. This policy also ensures the occupational safety and health

of the employees (at para 12.00) by all parties concerned. It recognizes the need for safe and
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healthy work environment for the working class anywhere in Bangladesh and sets its goals

accordingly. Besides, the constitution of Bangladesh is an important instrument which

safeguards the interest of the working class in Bangladesh. As a signatory to the International

Labor Organization (ILO), Bangladesh is committed to maintain the labor standards at its

international level and to show respect to all such announcements as become applicable and

available in due course of time. Accordingly, in 1998, along with other ILO member states,

Bangladesh announced that it would eradicate the child labor effectively and keep the children

away from being engaged in risky jobs to keep them safe from any type of accidents. National

Labor Policy, 2012 of Bangladesh also urges the need to set up hospitals and other health service

provider near the working place and launch health insurance system by both private and public

entrepreneurships.

Thus, from the foregoing discussion, we can say that there are enough legal protections in

place for the occupational safety and health in the industrial sectors of Bangladesh including the

RMG factories. It only requires proper implementation by all concerned parties involved.

III. COUNTER-ARGUMENTS AND THEIR REFUTATIONS:

A. Foreign Buyers’ Reluctance to Pay Higher Price and Compensation to Victims

According to Sander (2015), the international companies that once profited from these

workers’ labor have very little or no contribution to these unfortunate victims and their survivor

family members. Benetton was the first customer of Rana Plaza and it had to be shamed into

paying into the fund almost two years after the collapse. Paying the missing $6 million would

cost them less than five percent of their annual profit. Besides Benetton, there are others for

whom the $30 million needed would prove no problem. Inditex, the owner of brands such as
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Zara paid only $1 million into the fund. The same did the Walmart. This company paid out

almost $13 billion in 2014 as dividends while only $1 million into the fund. There are companies

which paid nothing. For example, Adler from Germany or Texman from Denmark. As a result, it

has been two years since Rana Plaza collapsed and still its victims have not been fully

compensated. According to Muhammad (2013),

Unlimited greed and political power, along with global inhuman system of injustice, created

monsters that actually killed more than a thousand workers in Bangladesh. The cruel death of

workers is, in fact, a reflection of the cruel lives millions face every day. The system,

profiting from the repression, insecurity, and deprivation of workers, created the risk and

vulnerability that preceded Spectrum, Smart, Tazreen and Rana disaster.

Muhammad (2013) has further mentioned that inhuman working conditions, low wages, verbal

and physical abuse, irregular or non-payment of dues and the inability to organize are common

aspects in many RMG factories that supply world-class garments. These international buyers and

retailers are supposed to guarantee that the factories from which they buy are compliant with

labor standards, safety and security. Buyers often visit factories. Therefore, they cannot pretend

that things on the ground are unknown to them. These increasingly profit-motivated buyers who

put pressure for cheaper and faster supply without paying any attention to the safe working

conditions are also responsible for disasters like Tazreen or Rana Plaza. They are building wealth

over the value created by workers of garments industry in Bangladesh but not looking at their

occupational safety at all.

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B. Industry Owners’ Profit Making Attitude

Local factory owners of responsibility are also put into question. This greater injustice is

done partially by these owners as well. They too have grown rich over the years, and dozens of

them have made their fortunes through the labor of textile workers. The owners of the Rana

Plaza factories are in jail, they have paid nothing so far for the lives they dead or injured

workers. In their symbolic verdict, the judges also held BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment

Manufacturer and Exporters Association) and BKMEA (Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers

and Exporters Association) responsible for not taking strict actions against the owners of certain

factories that are breaking laws each and every day. Therefore, these local owners also pose a

threat to the safe working environment in the RMG factories of Bangladesh. The owners had

apparently not complied with the construction laws set by the Bangladesh government.

Consequently, faulty construction has caused the accident. For example, more than twenty

workers were crushed alive and about 50 were injured in Phoenix Garment building that

collapsed on February 25. RAJUK (capital development authority) was quick to point out that

the structures were either partially or completely illegal.

C. Other Impediments to Develop a Safe RMG Sector

Different clauses of penal code, criminal act, factory law and the constitution were

brought into light and the lawyers, representing the garment workers, demanded exemplary

punishment for the guilty. They accused the Chief Inspector of Labour Ministry for not visiting

the factories and making sure that the work environment was safe. The lawyers also accused

RAJUK for the construction and extension of illegal structures and for not visiting the site after

its completion for verification purposes. The owners of factories were accused of violating
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factory law and safety and security acts. Such negligence was inexcusable; the lawyers also

stated that they termed such activities as prime examples of human rights violation. According to

the FSCD law, it is mandatory for the factories to have an emergency exit to prevent casualties.

But the provision is grossly ignored. Finally, international buyers and retailers are supposed to

guarantee that the factories from which they source are compliant. We know delegates from

buyers often visit factories, and it is also well known that the owners provide a wide range of

entertainment to please them. Therefore, they cannot pretend that things on the ground are

unknown to them. There is no doubt that their thirst for increasing profit, and pressure for

cheaper and faster supply creates bad working conditions and risks like in the cases of Tazreen

Garments and Rana Plaza.

IV. INTERNATIONAL LABOR STANDARDS:

A. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Labor Standards

According to Moran (2014), the United States passed the Occupational Safety and Health

Act in 1970. This legislation provides a standard for employers to ensure the health and safety of

American workers. Workplace has to be free of occupational hazards. Employees are required to

follow rules and regulations established to promote their safety and to use equipment designed to

insure their safety. More specifically, employees must be provided with a safe environment free

of toxic substances, asbestos, dust, and cotton dust. Precautions must be taken for first aid, eye

and face protection, and safety at excavation sites to prevent cave-ins. Employees must be

accorded a work environment with adequate lighting, ventilation, and heat, as well as tools and

equipment that are in proper working order. Thus, it prevents injuries, loss of wages, lost
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production, and incurrence of medical and disability expenses. The Department of Labor has the

right to inspect the work environment to insure adherence to the OSHA requirements.

Inspections of business premises and records may be made during working hours and at

other times deemed reasonable by OSHA compliance officers. The employees and the employer

may be questioned privately. Record keeping relating to occupational accidents and illnesses is

required and must be produced upon demand. Exposure of employees to toxic chemicals must be

documented. Employees have the right of free access to the documents relating to their exposure.

If the level exceeds the occupational safety and health standard, the employer must immediately

notify the employee and take corrective action. If the employees believe a standard is being

violated, they may notify the Secretary of Labor in writing. If the Secretary determines that there

is a viable issue, he or she will authorize an investigation.

If an employer has committed a violation, an OSHA director will issue a citation, which

will describe the particulars as well as reference to the occupational safety and health standard

that the Secretary believes has been violated. The employer, upon receipt, has fifteen business

days to contest the citation, or it will become a final order not subject to judicial review.

Penalties may be assessed between $5,000 and $70,000 for each violation of an occupational

safety and health standard. These penalties may be made in increments of up to $7,000 per day

per violation. Payment for these penalties shall be made to the Secretary of Labor and deposited

in the U.S. Treasury. With regard to any issues of occupational safety and health not addressed

by the Secretary of Labor, the individual states are free to develop their own standards. The

commission may render its own decision or else allow the administrative law judge’s decision to
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be final. An appeal may be made in either case within sixty days from the Commission’s

decision to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

As mentioned earlier, the maintenance of safe working conditions is another obligation

placed on the employer. Any tools or equipment furnished to the employee must be in proper

working order; otherwise, the employer may be liable for the harm resulting to an employee

under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Act. An employer’s liability

is not always based on strict liability and is therefore not always absolute. There are

circumstances where an employee’s own negligence will bar recovery. If an employee is injured

during the scope of employment, then the employee will be covered under workers’

compensation.

B. International Labor Organization (ILO) Response and Its Standards

ILO actively promotes policies and provides assistance to countries to help extend

adequate levels of social protection to all members of society. The experience of setting up a

mechanism to deliver compensation in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza highlighted the need for

an Employment Injury Insurance (EII) Scheme to be established. An EII scheme will benefit

workers and industry alike. Workers will receive payment in case of injury. Employers will

benefit from low-cost and no-fault accident compensation insurance for workers. Building a

culture of Occupational Safety and Health and the skills to implement it is a major challenge for

the RMG sector. Efforts are therefore underway supported by ILO to reinforce the capacity of

workers, supervisors and managers in the sector to improve the safety of their workplaces.

Through training and education and the support of broad awareness campaigns and materials,
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workers and employers will benefit from improved safety practices and be better able to fulfil the

objectives of the National Action Plan on Fire and Building Safety.

The ILO responded quickly to the Rana Plaza tragedy with a high level mission to Dhaka

at the start of May 2013, which agreed immediate and medium term actions with the

Government of Bangladesh and employers’ and workers’ organizations. These were integrated

into the National Tripartite Plan of Action on fire safety and structural integrity (NTPA). The

ILO launched a US$31.4 million, three-and-a-half year program funded by Canada, the

Netherlands and UK to support implementation of the NTPA and improve working conditions in

the ready-made garment (RMG) sector. Following the collapse of the Rana Plaza it was decided

that 3,508 export-oriented RMG factories should undergo structural, fire and electrical safety

inspections. Two initiatives representing international brands and retailers are the Bangladesh

Accord on Fire and Building Safety and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. They have

carried out inspections of the factories which their member companies source from. As part of its

RMG program, ILO is supporting the national initiative of the Government of Bangladesh to

carry inspections of the remaining 1,500 RMG factories. As of 2 September 2015, the national

initiative had inspected 1,335 of these factories. Combined together the Accord, Alliance and

National Initiative have inspected some 92.3% of the target total. Although the recruitment of

inspectors is a positive development, both new and existing staffs need intensive capacity

building. ILO is implementing a comprehensive program to train inspectors, build the

capabilities of DIFE as well as to enhance governance and accountability of the labor inspection

system. Besides these, ILO is working to help develop guidelines for Detailed Engineering

Assessments (DEA) that some factories need to carry out following initial inspections. A pilot
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scheme is also being undertaken by ILO to help 14 factories develop Corrective Action Plans

(CAPs) that set out how issues identified in the inspection reports will be remediated.

V. BRIDGING THE GAP: WHAT BANGLADESH RMG INDUSTRY NEED TO DO TO

RAISE ITS SAFETY STANDARDS AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL.

To lift the occupational safety level of RMG industries of Bangladesh to its international

standards, Bangladesh needs to ensure enforcement of labor laws, building code, electrical

safety, fire safety act and environment act; frame a common safety guideline in line with those

laws and codes and international standards, especially ILO Convention 155 and other protocols;

establish interlink and coordination between the authorities and departments such as labor

inspection, RAJUK, fire service and civil defense. Provision for obtaining occupational

certificate after the building is fully completed and other utility facilities, like gas and electricity,

should be provided based on this occupational certificate. In an unsuitable land, we have to

particularly ensure proper layout plans, ground investigation and load distribution plans. We

should define soil standards and registered soil investigators should be appointed to ensure this.

Factory inspection mechanism should be strengthened and upgraded with proper human resource

and equipment. This department should be accountable to a tripartite body such as National

Industrial Health and Safety Council.  Position of Public Prosecutor in the Labour Court should

be created. Make clustering of factories for fire-fighting. Build water reservoir, common fire

fighting vehicle for quick action in case of fire.  Factory buildings should keep mandatory fire

protective doors at the entrance point of every floor to prevent the spread of smoke, and ensure 

fire resistant doors can be opened from both sides, in and out. Manmade disasters and building

collapse incidents should be included as separate categories in the Standing Order for Disaster
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(SOD), being prepared by the government for natural disaster. Formation of ‘safety committee’

should be mandatory with proper workers participation; this committee should be given adequate

authority to assess and recommend  improvement, informed other authorities if owner does not

act and ask the workers to stop work.

Responsibility of the owner should be distinctly mentioned in the labor law and provision

of appropriate punishment clause for negligence needs to be included in the labor law.  Persons

responsible for past disasters must be brought to justice including Rana Plaza, Tazreen Fashion,

and Smart Garments. Adequate compensation should be ensured by amending the labor law. The

present amount of compensation must be increased as per some recent High Court verdicts.

Compensation should be legally binding obligation of the owners and must not be amalgamated

with charity support. Compensation should be calculated on the basis of ILO Convention 121

and Fatal Accident Law 1855. Worker health damage due to occupational diseases should be

compensated like accidents. Social insurance need to be introduced to cover the informal sector

workers, day laborers etc. A National Institute for OHS should be established and kept

operational to create regular survey and build data base of occupational hazards, risk, disease and

accidents. This institute should arrange training of professionals, safety committee members, and

managerial staffs on regular basis. All personal protection equipment (PPE) should be available

and workers should be motivated to use these. National Industrial Health and Safety Council

formed under the article of 323 of Labour Act 2006 should be functional.

Overall improvement of industrial relation system and its governance are necessary to minimize

accidents in factories. Trade unions can play a vital role to ensure safety and implementation of

laws. Necessary steps should be taken to create conducive environment to build strong trade

unions in line with ILO Convention 87 & 98. National OHS policy which had been drafted in
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2010 should be finalized and passed immediately after consultation with experts, trade unions

and other stake holders.

VI. CONCLUSION:

Over the last two years, the Bangladesh RMG sector has undergone substantial structural

reforms and humanitarian and social initiatives, all aimed at minimizing the possibility of an

incident similar to the Rana Plaza collapse occurring again in the future. A range of

commitments have been made by stakeholders to support victims of the incident, and the

industry has identified a series of problems and initiated appropriate remedial actions. However,

the implementation of these commitments and measures has faced challenges. As such, the

question that remains to be answered is how, two years on from the tragedy, can the Bangladesh

RMG sector reclaim its image as one of the most compliant apparels sectors in the world? This

paper has focused on the level of progress made towards achieving this objective and towards

developing the sustainability of the sector into the future. This paper has recognized the

effectiveness of initiatives implemented to assist affected workers to get back into normal life,

and measures to promote the reform and development of the RMG sector. Although, these

measures have been found to be inadequate in their impact and sustainability, it is imperative that

all stakeholders ensure the successful implementation of all ongoing initiatives in their entirety,

so as to avoid stagnation in the RMG production and to continue to improve Bangladesh’s

position in the global market.

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