To assess human and labour rights’ scenario in the country, the European Commission (EC) is reportedly sending a high-level delegation to Bangladesh in September, which would be meeting the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) officials and employer’s federation, labour leaders, and officials of Commerce, Labour and Foreign Ministries between September 11-16, to assess the existing scenario.
It may be mentioned here in March 2017, the EC had written to the Bangladesh Government to ensure labour rights and freedom of association, failing which it had threatened suspension of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facility.
“We will need to demonstrate to the European Parliament, Council of Ministers and to civil society that Bangladesh is taking concrete and lasting measures to ensure the respect of labour rights. This will be essential for Bangladesh to remain eligible for the EBA [everything but arms] regime. Without such progress, our monitoring could eventually lead to the launch a formal investigation, which could result in temporary withdrawal of preferences,” the letter reportedly underlined.
The upcoming visit of the EC delegation holds a lot of significance for the country as it would reportedly determine the need for launching a formal investigation, to decide whether Bangladesh should be allowed to enjoy the GSP under everything but arms (EBA) regime in the European Market.
The delegation consisting of Nikolaos Zaimis, Adviser at European Commission, Directorate General for Trade, policy officer of DG trade Maja-Alexandra Dittel and Elina Laurinen, Head of unit of the Directorate-General for Employment Lluis Prats and Policy Officer Benedikt Buenker and Deputy Head of Unit of European External Action Service Isabelle Delattre would reportedly examine the progress of the labour rights situation in Bangladesh, in line with the sustainability compact.