"Let the millions of Bangladeshi workers live with livelihood in RMG sector"

Dhaka, 3 December 2004

We the members of the national and international trade union movement, representatives of business sector, manufacturers of RMG sector, politicians, human rights, women rights and labour rights activists, journalists, representatives of UN agencies, NGOs and INGOs unanimously endorse this declaration on roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders of RMG sector nationally and globally.

We the trade union activists and the representatives of the international civil society hold WTO responsible for the upcoming restructuring of global trade in textile and garments. We are apprehensive that the diversion in trade may lead to retrench millions of RMG workers in Bangladesh. As such, we put forward the following demands to the WTO:

Ensure retention of market access of Bangladesh RMG in developed economy.

Extend the timeframe of compliance to ATC for Bangladesh RMG for at least another decade or provide preferential/relaxed RoOs for a decade.

Assess and identify the actual and potential loss of employment of the workers in Bangladesh RMG and extend compensation for viable livelihood.

Ensure that the unskilled and semi-skilled workers of RMG sector of Bangladesh (who may experience retrenchment due to the WTO led liberalization) have equitable access to the job market of the developed economies.

We the civil society members consider the Government of Bangladesh as the key actor in ensuring the livelihood concerns of the workers of the RMG sector in the post-MFA era. We acknowledge and appreciate the recognition of the government to the concerns of the RMG workers and its initiatives to address those. We call on the government to:

Workers Rights:

Ensure that the workers of the RMG sector have access to their rights and legal protections.

Rights to organize
Rights to work
Letter of Contract
'code of conducts' should not replace the national labor laws and the ILO conventions

The government must not derogate the existing legal provisions for the workers as mentioned in the labour law of the land. We strongly urge the government not to expand the working-hour for the workers beyond the international standard.

The government must extend compensation to workers, if retrenched as per the national labour law and take legal measures against those who violate those laws.

Compensation to the retrenched workers:

Compensation beyond the legal provision to ensure alternate livelihood skill training (with economic assistance during training)/ Job placement/ assistance to self-employment, safe migration provision etc.

Job-Bank needs to be established to facilitate re-employment of the retrenched RMG workers within or beyond the RMG sectors.

Workers' Welfare:

Ensure that at least 5 % of the net export earning of the RMG sector is earmarked for the RMG workers' welfare fund.

Mobilize adequate resources nationally and internationally to meet the post-MFA livelihood disaster of RMG workers.

Ensure and facilitate participation of trade union representatives of RMG sector in all the relevant GOB Committees on RMG and MFA phasing out.

Market Access:

Long-run: Removal of all forms of NTB in DCs and assistance from WTO-IF for expansion of competitiveness of Bangladesh RMG.

Short-run: Extension of market protection beyond 2004 with at least another decade to integrate within ATC.

Backward linkage for value addition:

Long-run: Investment in textile to ensure that value addition increases to build a sustained backward linkage to meet WTO RoO requirements.

Short-run: Move for relaxed RoOs for a decade along with an investment assistance plan under WTO-IF for development of textile.

We the international civil society members identify an unique role of the manufacturers in respecting and implementing workers' rights not only as a legal binding but also as a strategy for ensuring and expanding market access of Bangladesh RMG.
The Conference calls on BGMEA and BKMEA to:

Corporate Social Responsibility:

Respect to workers' rights based on national labour law and ILO convention.

Ensure a living wage for the workers of the RMG sector along with wage protection so that market competition cannot derogate the wage beyond the living wage.

Extend compensation to workers has to be a shared responsibility of BGMEA.

Invest and share costs of facilitating backward linkage ensuring both sustained job and profit in RMG sector.

The Conference also holds the Global brands and Retailers for performing Global Corporate Social Responsibility. We the trade union and civil society members hold the global brands and retailers equally responsible for ensuring that the:

Employment is retained at manufacturing countries like Bangladesh in the post MFA era.

Prices are not continually degraded for the national suppliers. Rather adequate prices are paid matching the investment costs of better working environment and labour standards.

The global brands and retailers must also bear the costs of compensation to the retrenched workers of Bangladesh RMG sector, if the workers loose jobs in the post MFA regime.

We the members of the international civil society stress on a proactive global solidarity movement. This movement is envisioned to be headed by the international Trade Union bodies in favour of the job and livelihood protection of the workers of Bangladesh RMG sector. The Conference calls on the International Workers' Unions to:

Raise voice regarding the livelihood security of the RMG workers of Bangladesh (85% women) in post-MFA era.

Measure ethical buying/ethical sourcing and CSR with respect to livelihood of millions of RMG workers in Bangladesh (85% women).

Hold the global brand names and retailers responsible to perform corporate social responsibilities to the workers of supplying countries such as Bangladesh.

Last but not the least, we the international civil society members are self critical on the roles of the Bangladesh RMG sector trade unions. On one hand the conference identifies the environment of extreme violence and hostility within which the trade unions are organizing and voicing the worker's concerns. On the other hand, the conference identifies a need of reconciliation within the Bangladesh Trade Union Movement with respect to:

Facilitating a more visible, vocal and effective engagement and representation of women workers in the trade union movement in the RMG sector.

Promoting unity and raising a common voice by all the trade union federations working in the RMG sector.

The International Conference on MFA Phasing Out organized by Bangladesh National Council (BNC) of Textile, Garments and Leather Workers (Dhaka 3 December to 4 December 2004) focuses on building linkage and coordination among the national and global labour and consumers' movement. Together it will be possible to ensure that the global brands, retailers and national manufacturers are respecting the rights of the workers as well as that the workers are not forced to retrenchments as a consequence of liberalization of the garments trade.

The Conference underscores the need of working in favour of ensuring livelihood security of the 2 million RMG workers of Bangladesh (85% women) and call on all the stakeholders to raise their voices to influence the policies of WTO, brands, retailers, national manufacturers and the governments. We need to ensure that works are retained in Bangladesh RMG with rights of the workers. In case of retrenchment, a safety-net has to be installed to deliver compensation to the retrenched workers with access to marketable skills and facilitation for alternate livelihoods.

We, the participants of the Conference, express our strong commitment to carry forward the identified roles and responsibilities and call on WTO, global brands, retailers, national manufacturers and governments to "Let the millions of Bangladeshi workers live with livelihood in RMG sector".
The following agencies have participated in the Conference and formulated and endorsed the Dhaka Declaration on MFA phasing out.