Bangladesh

A total of 13 people have been charged in connection with the deadly 2012 Tazreen Fashions fire that claimed over 100 lives. These include the owner, Delwar Hossain, and his wife along with 11 other factory managers and security guards. The trial will begin on October 1 and if convicted, all could spend the rest of their lives in prison. (Reuters)
 
The government of Bangladesh has proposed a new law aimed at cracking down on illegal units and streamlining the overall readymade garments sector. The “Textile Industries Establishment Act of 2015” would require all new and existing garment production facilities to register with the Directorate of Textiles and be subject to random, unannounced inspections by the department. Failure to comply would result in either a fine or imprisonment. A comment period for industry stakeholders and workers’ groups closed on September 1 and authors of the proposed policy are now reviewing that input. There is no word yet on when the legislation could come into effect. (New Age BD)
 
A major garment workers’ union in Bangladesh is demanding the re-opening of several garment factories, each at the center of ongoing controversies. Swan Garments was closed earlier this year amid an ownership dispute after the previous owner died while factories belonging to the Tuba Group have been shuttered since last year thanks in part to the repercussions of the 2012 fire at the Tazreen Fashions factory, which was part of the group. Workers in the union formed a human chain in downtown Dhaka on August 28 to make their demands known. (New Age BD)
 
The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety says that progress in regards to safety and social remediation in Bangladesh’s garment sector has been “slow.” Speaking at a press conference on September 3, Alliance board member James Moriarty said that their efforts had been hampered by a number of things, including ongoing political protests in the country. A recent sample inspection of factories found that only 32% of the required remediation activities had been carried out. (New Age BD)
 
The International Labor Organization (ILO) says it is launching a new weekly radio show in Bangladesh aimed at helping workers better understand their rights and responsibilities in the workplace. The show, titled “Amar Shram, Amar Odhikar” (My Labour, My Rights), will consist of 16 episodes airing on Friday nights. ILO officials say the show will be instrumental in helping grow awareness of the labor law and policies across the country. (UNB)
 
A report in the New Age newspaper says that while the number of trade unions has grown across Bangladesh in recent years, they still remain ineffective in many of the country’s garment factories. The paper says that while there are 326 unions registered with the government, less than 20% say that they are able to run their primary activities in their factories. Labor activists also allege that government leaders have been purposefully slow to approve new union applications. (New Age BD)
 
Global credit rating agency Fitch says that Bangladesh’s economic outlook will remain stable for at least the rest of 2015, though political and fiscal uncertainties do remain concerning. The company says that Bangladesh’s GDP growth has been “remarkably stable” over the past few years, even in the face of ongoing political instability, and that growth could reach 6.5% by the end of the fiscal year in June. Fitch has given Bangladesh a rating of “BB” which corresponds to a stable outlook. (Fibre2Fashion)