21 Amendments of Stelios KOULOGLOU related to 2017/2636(RSP)
Amendment 5 #
Citation 16
— 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 - all which demonstrate convincingly the failure of the government to respect the right to freedom of association and to bargain collectively;
Amendment 6 #
Citation 16 a (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 8 #
Recital A
Amendment 10 #
Recital C
C. whereas the ready-made industry (RMG) is currently employing 4.2 million people in as many as 5000 factories and indirectly supports the livelihoods of as many as 40 million people – about a quarter of Bangladesh’s population; whereas the RMG industry has importantly contributed to poverty reduction and to empowerment of women; whereas women, mostly from rural areas, represent 80% of the RMG sector in Bangladesh;
Amendment 16 #
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 storyBangladesh's sizable exports, including of garments;
Amendment 17 #
Recital E
E. whereas these generous trade preferences are enshrined in the EU’s principle to promote fair and free trade, and, therefore, provide for the EU to suspend GSP benefits in most serious cases of human rights violations on the basis of chapter V article 19 point 1 a) of the GSP regulation, which stipulates that preferential treatments may be withdrawn temporarily for [among others]: serious and systematic violation of principles laid down in the conventions listed in Part A of Annex VIII, including the eight ILO fundamental conventions;
Amendment 22 #
Recital H
H. whereas the current minimum wage of 5 300 BDT (US $ 67) per month has not been increased since 2013 and continues to provide an income below the extreme poverty line set by the World Bank; whereas the minimum wage board has not been convened;
Amendment 25 #
Recital I
I. whereas since 21st December 2016, following strikes and demonstrations by Bangladeshi garment workers seeking higher wages, the Bangladeshi authorities have arrested or 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 27 #
Recital K
K. whereas a number of promising initiatives led by a collaboration between labour and the private sector such as the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) have contributed 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 31 #
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, and are recognizinge the contribution of the Compact in 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 months in this area;
Amendment 33 #
Recital L a (new)
L a. Whereas the ILO has indicated that Bangladesh has made no tangible progress in amending the Bangladesh Labour Act of 2006 and adopted Implementing Rules which create obstacles to the exercise of freedom of association; whereas workers in the garment sector continue to face serious obstacles in registering trade unions; whereas workers have been dismissed for trade union activity without recourse and without sanction of any kind for the employer; whereas workers have been repeatedly subjected to acts of violence, including murder, for exercising trade union activities; and whereas workers in Export Processing Zones have been denied the right to join trade unions;
Amendment 36 #
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that despite the impressive track record on growth and developgrowth experimented in recent years, Bangladesh needs to urgently do sizable efforts over the long run in order to achieve sustainable and more inclusive economic growth; underlines that structural reforms leading to increase of productivity, further diversification of exports , social justice, workers' rights, environmental protectionand fight against corruption would be essential in this sense;
Amendment 38 #
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) to enhance its level of engagement to improve safety and working conditions and protect workers’ rights in garment sector as a matter of highest priority, to enhance implementation of legislation on building and factory safety; to continue to raise government funding for labour inspectorate, to continue to recruit and to train more factory inspectors, to provide for conditions to lower the turnover of labour inspectors, to set-up an annual work plan for follow-up inspections of factories subject to remediation and to enlarge building and factory inspections to other sectors;
Amendment 39 #
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. urges the Government of Bangladesh to instate immediately the minimum wage board and institute a shorter frequency of wage review;
Amendment 42 #
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the international brands/retailers and Bangladeshi private sector to stay engaged in order to promote over the long runrespect the labor laws and to promote responsible business practices andincluding decent working conditions for Bangladeshi garment workers and facilitate transparent and coordinated mechanisms between relevant initiativeinformation on which factories are producing the goods; encourages the continuation of the work of the global retailers and brands to adopt a unified code of conduct for factory audit in Bangladesh;
Amendment 45 #
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. calls for the Commission to extend corporate social responsibility through binding legislation on due diligence obligations to ensure that EU companies fulfil their obligation to respect both human rights and the highest social and environmental standards;
Amendment 47 #
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Calls on the EU to initiate an investigation under the GSP mechanism as a way to ensure meaningful progress on workers’ rights, safety and working conditions, building and factory safety and labour inspections; calls on the EU to commence similar procedures regarding the amendment of 2013 Labour Act to address freedom of association and collective bargaining, promotion of social dialogue, non-arbitrary registration of trade unions, and effective investigation and prosecution of alleged anti-union discrimination, as well as the safeguard of labour legislative frameworks and their full compliance with international standards such as ILO conventions 87 and 89;
Amendment 49 #
Paragraph 9
9. Supports the Commission's examination of a possible EU-wide initiative on the garment sector-voluntary initiatives and strict codes of c; reminds the European Parliament's call on the Commission to go beyond the presentation of a Staff Working Document and to propose binding legislation on duct shall be its key principlese diligence obligations for supply chains in the garment sector; stresses furthermore that coordination, sharing 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;
Amendment 51 #
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, sharing information and exchange of best practices may contribute to increasing efficiency of private and public value chain initiatives and achiebut have proven to be insufficient to deliver positive enough results on sustainable development;
Amendment 57 #
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. supports the efforts of the UN open ended working group with the aim of elaborating a binding UN Treaty on business and human rights; calls upon the Commission and Member States to actively engage in this negotiations;
Amendment 62 #
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that the high-quality garment sector is essential for Bangladeshi economic and social development, that its expansion has allowed many workers, especially women, to move from informal economy to formal economy; wais deeply concerns against initiatives that could lead to disengagement of EU and other businesses from Bangladesh which would be damaging not only for their reputation but most importantly for future development perspectives of the countrybout the conditions of garment workers in Bangladesh; shares the concern of the International Trade Union Confederation; Notes with concern how existing voluntary initiatives for garment sector´s global supply chain sustainability have fallen short to effectively address human rights and labour rights related issues in the garment sector; Calls, therefore, on the Commission to present a legislative proposal on binding due diligence obligations for supply chains in the garment sector;