Rights of garment workers in Bangladesh
30.11.2016
Question for written answer E-008951-16
to the Commission
Rule 130
Ilhan Kyuchyuk (ALDE)
The garment industry in Bangladesh is second only to China’s in size and employs about four million people, mainly women, in approximately 3 500 factories. Ready-made garments account for nearly four-fifths of the country’s exports and contribute more than 10% of the GDP of the developing south Asian nation. The garment workers in the country continue to face challenges to unionisation and broad violations of workers’ rights such as physical assault, verbal abuse, forced overtime, unsanitary conditions, denial of paid maternity leave, and failure to pay wages and bonuses on time or in full.
Unfortunately, all of this is happening just three years after the Rana Plaza factory collapse and it is a proof that Bangladesh does not comply with the rules and conditions set up in the Bangladesh Sustainability Compact, which was signed by the country following the Rana Plaza disaster.
1. What action will the Commission take to improve the rights of garment workers in Bangladesh and to force the government to comply with the rules and conditions set up in the Bangladesh Sustainability Compact?
2. Is the Commission prepared to revoke Bangladesh’s trade preferences with the EU under the Everything But Arms (EBA) regime if the country does not improve the rights of garment workers?