The Bangladeshi Prime Minister seems to be on denial of the fact that Bangladesh needs a lot of improvement in the RMG industry practices. Her feisty remarks about the US seems to be off balance. Anyone who follows the official statements from the US govt about matters related to Bangladesh, knows that the US is not totally satisfied with the improvements that took place in the RMG sector and the way she handled many important matters, like the elections, democracy, human rights and other issues in Bangladesh and rightfully so. PM Hasina seems to be really frustrated with the US over those issues and this is her way of showing frustration. She recently said Do the US authorities really comply with their labour rights though they always give recommendations about ours? It was rather funny to see her comment about US standards as if US and Bangladesh maintained equal level of standards. It simply is not the case. The US maintains one of the highest standards for industrial practices (and yes, way above the Bangladeshi level) and there are many professional journals, research and industry publications that widely publish the data (not claiming even that should not be further improved). While showing frustration, one has to be at least true to the facts. The US companies buy clothes from Bangladesh, and we all know buyers do dictate, it is as simple as that anywhere in the world. The buyer companies have certain standards to follow due to their internal requirements (from the end customers and government) which the seller nations often have to adhere to in order for the buyers to procure. One alternative to not adhering to that is to stop selling to the buyer nation altogether, even then the human rights issues of labor standards, safety, treatment and pays are always going to be scrutinized, if not by the United States, may be by some other country or international bodies. The Prime Minister seems to have some form of grudge against the US. She has repeatedly tried to bring up the issue of independence of Bangladesh in 1971 and US role in it etc, often tried to establish an impression that the US was somewhat against Bangladesh which is simply not true. What US is doing is pointing the deficiencies in the current Bangladesh government and the ruling party, not the country or people of Bangladesh. In fact, US is probably one of the most friendly country to Bangladesh and Bangladeshis as a whole. The data is out there that show that. The US is rightfully advising Bangladesh Govt and the RMG industry about the improvements needed as they (Bangladeshis) are the ones asking to have GSP facility, lower tariff and access to the US market and they must qualify to have that privilege and access. It is true for every nation in the world. not just the US. Every nation has its own internal standards the foreign nations need to adjust to. I would suggest the Prime Minister show that she is genuinely interested about the well being of the RMG industry and recognize the fact that Bangladesh does need to improve the industry practices, standards in terms of safety. production, wages and labor condition. Instead of being on denial, she should have acknowledged the fact that Bangladesh should and can learn from the US. Her Government has been resistant to change, the kind needed for the RMG industry as the buyers are requiring improvement amid a declining trend in RMG orders. If her objective is to belittle America on that point, she just sounds like someone who is all about tit-for-tat. If she gets out of that tit-for-tat mindset and truly shows her intention to improve the industry and her interest in improvement of Bangladeshi Govt. officials, Bangladesh RMG industry will benefit the most. Nonetheless, on her Governments request, invitation to visit some of the industries in the US should be granted, rather should be encouraged as that would highlight the deficiencies in Bangladesh government as well as RMG industry practices. The visit needs to be showcased on media and press revealing the inefficiencies, lack of standards in Bangladeshi factories compare to the US though (free from political spins from the Bangladeshi side and instead focus on improvement of the Bangladeshi RMG industry). Bangladesh can really learn a great deal from the US industry practices for sure.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 22:00:38 +0000
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