Norway commits $2.5mn for Bangladesh garment workers

06 Jun '13

2 min read

The Government of Norway will provide 14.5 million krone (approx. US$ 2.5 million) for promoting workers’ rights and labour relations in export-oriented readymade garment (RMG) industries in Bangladesh.

An agreement on the same was signed by the visiting Norwegian Minister for International Development Mr. Heikki Eidsvoll Holmås with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Country Office Director Mr. Srinivas Reddy, in the presence of Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Government of Bangladesh Mr Mikail Shipar.

The agreement with the ILO is part of the Norwegian Government’s commitment to promote better working conditions in development countries through the ILO.

“Higher wages and decent working conditions ensure economic and social development. By supporting the ILO’s efforts in Bangladesh we want to make a contribution to improved working conditions and better and fairer wages for Bangladeshi workers,” said Mr. Holmås in a statement released by the ILO.

Welcoming Norwegian aid, Mr. Reddy said, “The support of the Norwegian Government will directly contribute to implementation of one of the commitments, on workers’ education and training of mid-level supervisors and managers on occupational safety and health and fundamental principles and rights at work.”

The support will facilitate continuous dialogue between workers’ and employers’ organizations and the Government and strengthen the tripartite partners’ capacity to support the on-going ILO efforts of the Promoting Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work project, the release said.

The support will also assist in the future implementation of an ILO Better Work programme in Bangladesh.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Holmås said Norway’s import of RMG from Bangladesh has increased over the past ten years and is expected to rise further. He estimated the current Norway-Bangladesh textile and garment trade at one billion krone annually.

He said as the trade between the two countries increases, it also improves relations between the two peoples and thus brings the Bangladesh garment industry closer to Norway. Hence, incidents like Rana Plaza are a matter of concern for the Norwegian people.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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