Since the Rana Plaza building collapse and Tarzeen factory fire, noteworthy progress has been made in overhauling the Bangladesh garment sector, US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Desai Biswal said while in Dhaka.
Speaking to the media before embarking for Uzbekistan, Biswal said, “The Rana Plaza tragedy has seen real effort in transforming the industry and if Bangladesh can surmount the challenges, it will be considered a remarkable transformation.”
She added, “It can said with conviction that the loss of lives did not go in vain as it has galvanised the industry like never before and brought together industry, government, labour, civil society and the global community in an effort to transform the sector.”
Biswal said that over 200 new inspectors had been hired, more than 200 unions registered, above 2,000 factories inspected and 30 factories shut, which sent a stern message across the industry.
“All these are very important milestones, however, the road ahead is much harder and lots of work still needs to be done,” she informed.
“Legislations which have been passed also need to be implemented, while regulatory agencies should be set up and empowered to sustain the work of inspections done till now,” Biswal explained.
Replying to a query on whether Bangladesh would get back the GSP benefits which the US suspended after the Rana Plaza collapse, she said, she did not have information on the same, since it was undertaken by the US Trade Representative.” (AR)
