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Trade unions vital for the safety accord to succeed

Scott Nova of Workers Rights Consortium says

Md Fazlur Rahman
Trade unions vital for the safety accord to succeed Scott Nova of Workers Rights Consortium says
The accord for fire and safety signed by around 80 clothing retailers can only work if trade unions are given a prominent role in the proceedings, a global pro-worker activist said recently.
“Local unions can play a critical role. They can convey the workers' concerns about the dangers lurking in factories and ensure that the owners undertake the necessary repairs and renovations," Scott Nova, executive director of Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), said in an interview on August 18.
WRC, which has been vocal since the twin disasters of Tazreen fire and Rana Plaza collapse, is a US-based independent labour rights organisation that monitors the working conditions in factories globally.
Nova was in Dhaka to meet with a number of labour organisations to find ways for a quick and effective implementation of the five-year programme under the safety accord, which he states is different from the courses taken to date to inspect factories.
"It is a binding agreement on the part of the signatories and not a voluntary, corporate-run scheme," he said, adding that the accord covers more than 1,500 factories and the majority of the workers, believed to be upwards of three million.
As per the terms of the accord, signed mainly by European brands and retailers, the signatories will have
to fund the renovations and repair works needed to make the country's factory buildings safe.
"Right now, Bangladesh has millions of workers going to work everyday in unsafe buildings. Many of the buildings are structurally unsound like the Rana Plaza. Most of them do not have proper fire exits and emergency lighting and proper alarm system."
Although "deadly hazards”, they can be easily fixed. "But a lot of the factories do not have the means needed. Plus, they cannot afford to shut down temporarily while the repairs take place."
"But it is different scenario altogether if the factories have commit-
ments from their customers that would maintain business even if they have to shut down for a period and perhaps, pay for some of the repairs.'
The WRC chief cited the low prices for producers for the country's below-par safety standards and rights of workers.
"Brands jump from factory to factory and from country to country, due to which there is a tremendous downward pressure on the prices. This has led the factories to completely ignore safety standards."
"Our message to the Western brands is to stop screwing the workers in Bangladesh. Pay decent prices, make long-term commitment and help improve the factories."
If they play their part, the government and the factory owners have no other choice but to fulfil theirs as well, he thinks.
Bangladesh is now at a point where it is not possible to continue with the low-wage strategy, according to Nova.
The impact of the wage hike would not be much as the labour cost is a “small percentage" of the overall production costs, he said.
He went on to cite the case in 2010, when the wages almost doubled but did not erode any of Bangladesh's competitiveness.
"Bangladesh could have better wages and safe work places and still remain competitive. But it requires commitment from the brands. ”
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The activist criticised the newly passed labour law "for failing to go far enough to guarantee the workers their rights to organise".
"This is one of the main reasons why the workers have been dying in Bangladesh. If the workers of Rana Plaza had had a union, they would not have had to go into the building after cracks were developed the very day before the building collapsed.'
"If the workers ofTazreen Fashions had a union, they would have left the building as soon as the fire alarm rang."
The enforcement of laws, however, is equally important, Nova said.
"There are lots of aspects in Bangladesh's labour laws which are better than the labour laws of the US and Europe," he said, while citing the country's building code as an example.
"But, there does not seem to be any enforcement, which kind of makes the
over-emphasis on legislative reforms futile—it really does not matter if the government does not enforce the law."
Nova said there is a positive link between the Rana Plaza building collapse and the Tazreen Fire and the US suspending the trade benefits for Bangladesh." I doubt the Obama administration would have acted if there were no Tazreen or Rana Plaza incident."
Asked if the European Union would follow the US's lead in withdrawing trade privileges, he said: "If the retailers pay for implementing the accord, the factories do what they need to do and the government enforces rules and regulations that improve the working conditions, I do not think that the EU will take any action."
"The EU would recognise that progress has been made, and this, in turn, will help Bangladesh regain the GSP [from the US]."
fazlur.rahman@thedailystar.net