Thanks to very low labor costs, Bangladesh succeeded in the past decade in becoming the second-largest supplier to international markets after China. In 2012, the country exported apparel worth US$20 billion. About 50 percent is exported to Europe, and some 40 percent to the United States. Most major Western fashion houses and retail chains produce in Bangladesh.
Two and a half months after the devastating collapse of a textile factory in Bangladesh (see " The Rupp Report: Cheap Textiles Paid For With Human Lives," TextileWorld.com, April 30, 2013), 70 international companies have promised additional security in production. Now, it seems that something is happening to improve the desperate structure of the national textile production. The suppliers in the textile chain must sign an agreement that fire protection in the mills is guaranteed.
The Carrot And The Stick
Now, some days ago, the European Union (EU), Bangladesh and the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva signed an agreement to increase safety in the textile factories of Bangladesh (See sidebar). The agreement is intended to ensure that a tragedy such as the one last April in Rana Plaza will not occur again.
The EU is ready to help Bangladesh increase safety in its textile production. However, Brussels is also ready to act if nothing changes. Bangladesh must understand that the duty-free and quota-free imports of textile products from Bangladesh to the EU should not be simply taken for granted. With this agreement, on the one hand, the security should be increased in the textile factories. On the other hand, in the special economic zones, the workers have the right to assemble and to negotiate collective labor agreements. However, this seems to be a theoretical issue. Activists are convinced that these organizations would be important to represent the interests of the poor and uneducated women textile workers.
