The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)has given Bangladesh poor marks in so far as the prevailing condition of workers in Bangladesh is concerned. And the rating has been based on the labour safety standard and access to their rights. One may very well contest the rating Bangladesh has been given, but what cannot be challenged is the fact that labour issue has been a simmering problem that has not been sufficiently addressed as yet, particularly in the RMG sector which happens to be the biggest foreign export earner for the country.

We would hope that the government would not approach the issue in the usual cavalier manner and dismiss the report offhand. The matter demands to be addressed seriously. For the government the ranking is not as important as it is to recognise the gravity of the issue and the damaging consequences if not solved quickly. Although a degree of improvement has been achieved in the labour front, much more needs to be done to bring up the working conditions of our workers to international standard.When other large RMG exporters in the region have been able to meet the universal criterion in this respect, that we should be repeatedly pulled up for our failure to do so is unacceptable.

We are on notice by the ILO whose position on workplace safety is little different from the ITUC, and we have till November to put things right in this regard before it takes 'harsh' action against us. This coupled with the continued suspension of US preference facility and the EU threat to reconsider its position on preferential access to our RMG if all the aspects of the Sustainability Compact were not met, should not be taken lightly by the government.