16 Amendments of Maria ARENA related to 2017/2636(RSP)
Amendment 3 #
Citation 15 a (new)
- having regard to special paragraph in the ILO Committee on Application of Standards of the ILO Conference of 2016, the ILO High Level Tripartite Mission Report and the 2017 observations of the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations concerning Conventions 87 and 98
Amendment 4 #
Citation 15 b (new)
- having regard for the complaint filed in 2017 with the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association concerning the government's crackdown on garment workers in Ashulia in December 2016 and the complaint filed with the UN special mandates concerning the crackdown in Ashulia
Amendment 13 #
Recital C b (new)
C b. Whereas approximately 10% of the workforce in the RMG sector is employed in Export Processing Zones (EPZ), whereas under the EPZ Labour Act falls short of granting sufficient basic rights to workers in comparison to those elsewhere in Bangladesh, whereas a vast expansion of EPZ is planned.
Amendment 14 #
Recital D
D. whereas the EU’s generous unilateral trade preference under the so- called “Everything, but arms” initiative for least-developed countries (LDCs) enshrined in the EU GSP regulation granting tariff-free access for Bangladesh textiles under flexible rules of origins have significantly contributed to this success story;growth in export and employment
Amendment 18 #
Recital E a (new)
E a. Whereas Bangladesh will cease to be eligable for EBA in 2021, due to its good growth performance, and will have to apply for GSP+ to maintain the current level of market access; whereas GSP+ obligates the receiving country to strict compliance with 27 international conventions on, among others, good governance, labour law and freedom of association; whereas Bangladesh does not meet all of these criteria at the present;
Amendment 19 #
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas the Directorate-Generals of EMPL, DEVE and TRADE of the European Commission send a letter on March 16 2017 to the Goverment of Bangladesh demanding tangible progress by May 18 2017 on the following four points: 1) Undertake amendments to the 2013 Labour Act, 2) ensure that the law governing the EPZs allows for full freedom of association, 3) investigate as a matter of urgency all acts of anti-union discrimination and 4) ensure that applications for union registration are acted upon expeditiously and are not denied unless the fail to meet clear and objective criteria set forth in law;
Amendment 20 #
Recital F b (new)
F b. Whereas the International Labour Organisation gave Bangladesh a special paragraph in the ILO Committee on Application of Standards of the ILO Conference in 2016 stating that the country is in serious breach of its obligations under convention 87 (freedom of association); Whereas in 2015, the ILO reported that 78% of trade union registration applications were rejected due to a mix of hostility to unions by factory managers, certain politicians and an administrative incapacity to register them.
Amendment 21 #
Recital G
G. whereas, according to various reports, hundreds of garment workers died in various factory fires in Bangladesh since 2006, for which regrettably many culpable factory owners and managers have never been brought to justice, whereas it is estimated that 11.7 thousand workers suffer from fatal accidents and a further 24.5 thousand die from work related diseases across all sectors each year;
Amendment 24 #
Recital I
I. whereas since 21st December 2016, following strikes and demonstrations by Bangladeshi garment workers seeking higher wages, the Bangladeshi authorities havearbitrarily arrested orand detained at least 1435 unions leaders and worker rights advocatesadvocates, shut union and NGO offices and put them under police surveillance, and suspended or dismissed 1600 workers for protesting the low wages in the garment industry;
Amendment 29 #
Recital K
K. whereas a number of promising initiatives led by the private sector such as the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) have contributed moderately positively to improving supply chain standards and workforce safety over the last 20 years in terms of increasing workers’ rights in the garment supply chain;
Amendment 32 #
Recital L
L. whereas the conclusions of successive reviews of the Compact in 2014, 2015 and 2016 are reporting tangible improvements achieved by the Bangladeshi authorities in some areas, and are recognizing the contribution of the Compact in moderately improving health and safety in factories and working conditions in the RMG industry; whereas progress relating to worker’'s rights has been more challenging and no substantial progress has been witnessed for the last monthyears in this area;
Amendment 34 #
Recital M a (new)
M a. whereas global trade unions (ETUC, ITUC, Uni Global Union, IndustriAll) have been calling for the European Commission to carry out a GSP investigation due to, as the unions state: 'the government [of Bangladesh] has demonstrated beyond any doubt that continued dialogue mechanisms have failed and will do little if anything to improve conditions of the more than 4 million garment workers and the many millions more in other sectors'
Amendment 48 #
Paragraph 9
9. Supports the Commission's examination of a possible EU-wide initiative on the garment sector-voluntary initiatives and strict codes of conduct shall be its key principles; stresses furthermore that coordination, s; reiterates its call on the Commission to propose binding legislation on due diligence obligations for supply charings information and exchange of best practices may contribute to increasing efficiency of private and public value chain initiatives and achieve positive results on sustainable development; the garment sector so as to ensure that the EU and its trading partners and operators fulfil their obligations to respect both human rights and the highest social and environmental standards.
Amendment 56 #
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Supports the Commission's stated intent to launch an official GSP investigation when by May 18 2017 if no tangible progress is put in place by the GOB;
Amendment 58 #
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Calls on the European Commission to use the leverage granted by the future GSP+ negotiations with Bangladesh to the fullest extend and firmly hold the country to the international obligations it has to meet before being considered for GSP+;
Amendment 60 #
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9 c. Underlines that failure to improve the security situation and systematically confront the threats posed by extremists in Bangladesh will have a direct effect on investment in the country, which will ultimately hold back long term development and the lives of ordinary people.