Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Bangladesh is ranked among the ten worst countries in terms of workers' rights and trade union rights by the International Trade Union Confederation. The conventions on the organisation of work are not respected. The rights of workers, trade unions, freedom of expression, freedom of association and child labour are not respected. I know that the ILO and the European Union are working on this with the government of the country; however, pending the implementation of all these conventions that are announced in a few years’ time, I would like to draw attention to an agreement that has made a difference since the Rana Plaza tragedy in 2013. At the time, we became aware of the conditions under which clothes from well-known brands are produced that we wear on a daily basis, of the responsibility that we politicians, businesses and consumers bear when 60% of textile production, the country’s largest industry, is destined for the European market. Fashion brands had then embarked on an unprecedented agreement to improve health and safety in their factories and subcontractors – a binding agreement that has paid off for workers and especially women workers, but which is now on hold because some companies would like to end this agreement and only move forward on the basis of voluntary initiatives. However, since this experience in 2013, the agreement has shown us that in order for corporate responsibility to be effective and to benefit workers, the role of trade unions and NGOs must be respected. Negotiations between trade unions and trade marks are ongoing to renew the agreement on the protection of workers. We call on the European Commission to intervene with influential European players in the sector to encourage the conclusion of a binding agreement with an independent monitoring body. We also call for this agreement to be transposed to other countries that are affected by insecurity at work, such as India, Pakistan, Morocco or Egypt. We are all very much looking forward to the legislation on corporate social responsibility. But in the meantime, there is an agreement that needs to be renewed to ensure and guarantee respect for workers’ rights.