Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the government of Bangladesh to improve (a) working conditions, (b) safety standards and (c) pay in clothes factories used by international companies in Bangladesh.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK, through FCO and DFID is encouraging the government of Bangladesh to improve working conditions and safety standards in the garment sector in a number of ways.

The UK actively lobbies the government on these issues through the 3 + 5 mechanism that was established as part of the Sustainability Compact.

We are also working with the Government of Bangladesh to improve the framework within which factories operate. As part of our Garments sector programme, we are building the capacity of the government to significantly improve factory regulation and inspection by strengthening the Department for Inspection of Factories and Establishment. Through our support, this Department will have a 575 member cadre of professional labour inspectors, who among other things, will ensure that factories are safe and that they pay workers their salaries and overtime payments according to the law. The UK has also helped fund building, fire and electrical safety inspections in 1500 garment factories.

In 2013, as a result of lobbying from major stakeholders including the UK, Bangladesh raised the minimum wage for the country’s garment workers by 77 percent to 5,300 taka (£42) per month.