Garment factory owners should be taken on study tours to Europe to understand how crude labour exploitation is not the sole way of making profits and how spending towards better working conditions enhances productivity, said Professor ATM Nurul Amin of BRAC University (BRACU) on 23 April 2018.
It is unfortunate that the wake up call in this primitive capital accumulation period came in the form of the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse despite the presence of laws, enforcing bodies and the International Labour Organization, he said.
The chairperson of the Department of Economics and Social Sciences (ESS) was addressing a seminar on “Governance after Rana Plaza: Reviewing the Ready-made Garments Sector after the Rana Plaza Disaster” jointly organised by at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB).
The ULAB Center for Enterprise (CES) and Society and the ESS department of BRACU organised the event.
Associate Professor Shahidur Rahman, PhD of ESS and Associate Professor Kazi Mahmudur Rahman, PhD of CES gave a joint presentation on “Rana Plaza: After 5 Years”.
Shahidur Rahman pointed out benefits and shortcomings in multi-actor shared responsibilities following the collapse, including that of the Accord and Alliance, the two western buyers' platforms working to improve workplace safety in Bangladesh’s readymade garment sector.
Kazi Mahmudur Rahman compared labour costs in Asian countries, with Bangladesh having the lowest 22 cents per hour while Thailand the highest of $1.29-$1.36 per hour.
Mikail Shipar, former secretary to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and Vidiya Amrit Khan also spoke at the event.