DHAKA: Germany is committed to help in Bangladesh’s readymade garment sector as like previous years.
German Ambassador to Dhaka Dr Albrecht Conze made the assurance while addressing a handover ceremony on Sunday at the CIRDAP auditorium where the German International Development Agency, GIZ, presented 20 motorcycles to the Labour Inspectors under the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE).
He said, “Bangladesh`s future as an emerging industrial country depends on a reputation of excellence-not only with regard to the quality of its products, but just as much in terms of compliance with internationally agreed social standards.”
“These standards need to be established, controlled and monitored. A well trained and adequately equipped public inspection system is needed to avoid any repetition of the Tazreen and Rana Plaza disasters. Germany remains committed to help. Factory inspectors need to be mobile, and today, GIZ provides transport capability.”
Welcoming the initiative, the Ambassador further added that the labour inspectors are the most important component of the labour inspection system. “Currently there is a shortage of both manpower and transport facilities with over 5,500 factories in the Ready-Made Garment sector alone,”
He said.
The diplomat also said “These motorcycles will foster transparency through surprise visits, and enhance the frequency and mobility of the inspectors by making them less dependent on factory owners who erstwhile provided vehicles for inspections”.
The motorcycles were distributed under the Promotion of Social and Environmental Standards (PSES) project, a joint initiative of the Governments of Bangladesh and Germany, and the European Union (EU), implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH aiming at supporting frequency and convenience of factory inspections.
The hand over ceremony was attended by the State Minister for Labour and Employment Mojibul Haque Chunnu and the Secretary of the Ministry Mikail Shipar.
Country Director of GIZ Tobias Becker and the program coordinator of the PSES project Magnus Schimd also spoke at the occasion.
BDST: 2050 HRS, JAN 26, 2014
