The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Representatives of the international community at a function yesterday said that they would not boycott Bangladeshi shrimps, while the Government and the domestic private sector vowed to keep the industry complaint to global norms by enforcing labour laws and related issues.

They were speaking at a seminar on Bangladesh Labour Act in Relation to the Shrimp Industry organised jointly by Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation (BSFF) and Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA).

Commerce adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman said the Government was serious in monitoring the working environment of local industries, including the shrimp sector, to ensure their compliance with global standards.

"We stand very ready and alert to any issues relating to labour standard, compliance and quality of products. These are essential conditions to access the global market," the adviser told a seminar. The adviser said the government and other stakeholders were taking a "proactive and problem-solving approach" towards the issue.

Dr Zillur said, "The criticism from some corner has become a positive some game, not a zero-sum game as we have acted expeditiously to the issue. A number of specific initiatives have been taken. This should be a model for Bangladesh as a whole and other sectors should learn from the shrimp sector."

He called upon the industrialist to create a "credible body of evidence" within the area that would build confidence in all stakeholders. Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Maniklal Somaddar said, "a lot of improvement has taken place in the shrimp industry since 2007. We want further improvement."

The Government and the private sector were taking all out efforts to develop the condition in the shrimp industry, he said adding, "The government will do everything possible to enforce labour law in the industry."

David J Welsh, Country Director of the American Centre for International Labour Solidarity, said progress in the area of labour issues had been quite impressive, although he called for stricter measures in the future to ensure greater compliance in all domestic industries. Welsh made it clear that he did not support any boycott of Bangladeshi products.

"We are in no way for a boycott, rather we are advocating labour compliance issues for greater global acceptance of Bangladeshi products," he said.

In his key note presentation, Dr Mahmudul Karim, an executive director of the BSFF, said it had been decided with frozen food exporters that the BFFEA would issue a declaration that all plants under their purview would have to comply with labour laws.

Dr Karim said areas of concern included child labour issues, the provision of complaint boxes, and access for labour rights bodies to assess workplace conditions.

Panuddha Bonpala, director of the International Labour Organisation's Bangladesh chapter, stressed the importance of providing children with access to an education to put an end to child labour.

Acting labour and employment secretary Mahfuzul Haque said anyone found violating labour laws would face dire consequences.

"I would like to say this very clearly: violators of the labour act will not go unpunished," he said.

Commerce secretary Feroz Ahmed, fisheries and livestock secretary Syed Ataur Rahman, USAID country director Denise Rollins, BSFF chairman Syed Mahmudul Haque and BFFEA president Kazi Belayet Hossain also spoke.