Ensuring Safety of Garments Workers in Bangladesh

Dear GlobalGiving and Friends,

Please accept our small gift of gratitude and let it serve as a reminder that we truly appreciate your support. You are blessing to the UDiON and on behalf of our volunteers, board of directors, staff and entire UDiON family we extend our appreciation to each of you for your generosity.

The Advocacy and Rehabilitation Initiatives will be housed and sponsored by Member of Parliament. If this program is successful, it will become a new policy for Bangladesh Garment Factory.

The UDiON Foundation Program is a giant effort between the Policy makers and garment factory owners. Yes, our road is longer—but we travel it together. We don’t turn back. We leave no one behind. We pull each other up. That is the value we share as an UDiON Family. We believe we are all in it together is far better philosophy than you on your own.

Even though we have not reached our financial goal, however we have decided to move forward with lobbying the lawmakers. We now have successfully crated a team of volunteers and will move forward executing our plan. We are suspending the fundraising however we will make one final report upon completion of the project.

We look forward to sharing the program’s success with you as we progress. In the meantime we invite you to visit our blog, our website and our FaceBook page to see firsthand, the difference your gift is making. We are always looking for ways to improve our programs and services, and always seeking your feedback and suggestion, please send us an e-mail at info@udionfoundation.org.

Advocacy Committee

A Think-Tank advocacy committee was formed from the community at large with the following groups of people: Team is now segmented to 3 sub team focusing on different direction. One group to lobby the garments factory owners, one group to lobby the policy makers and one group to lobby the buyers’ market.

1. Badrul Hasan, Director National Security Agency, Bangladesh Government
2. S.M. Shaikat, Philanthropist and Prelaunch Journalist
3. Sharfuddin Kashmir, Journalist, Prothom Alo
4. Mohammed Zafar Ullah, EX Member of Parliament, Bangladesh Government
5. Abdul Fattah Tareq, Owner, SF Sourcing (Buying House)
6. Noman Rahman, Owner, Fashion Power Bangladesh Ltd. (Buying House)
7. Syed Zaman, Owner Garment Factory
8. Shamima Begum, Deputy Police Commissioner, Dhaka Metropolitan Police
9. Advocate Salma Ali, Deputy Director, Bangladesh National Lawyer Association
10. Advocate Fahmida Akter, National Female Lawyer Association
11. Shaheda Begum, Factory Workers
12. Abdul Korim, Factory Workers
13. Committee is chaired by UDiON Country Chief Dr. Khorsheda Akter Retina

Committee is responsible to collect and compile data and discuss in monthly meeting to put in action. Committee is tasked with the following:

1. Form a network and Build an advocacy coalition incorporating members from government, Institute of Apparel Research and Technology, Center for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh Garment Manufactures & Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA), Labor organizations (including labor wings of political parties), media houses, NGOs, CSOs and activists to push the policy issues as policy agenda
2. Recruit Experts and insiders of garments sector
3. Identify obstacle and challenges
4. Understand the current policy and its effectiveness
5. Understand the current corruptions within garments sectors
6. Undertake necessary capacity development initiatives for the leaders of train union of garments so that they can raise their voice for safeguarding rights and securities of the garment workers.
7. Dialogue to relocate and mandate garments factories from Capital City of Dhaka, as recent survey shows Dhaka is the 3rd polluted city in the world to live, relocating garments factories will improve the quality of lives and free transportation
8. Training and awareness building activities
9. Equal/increase Pay for garments workers
10. Safety at work Place
11. Lessoned Learn from past accident (Tazreen Fashions tragedy, The Guardian Tragedy, Rana Plaza tragedy etc.)
12. Work with policy makers and factory owners for changing the attitude and capacities of policy makers and workers of garments sectors
13. Committee and advocacy coalition group will take advocacy programs to exert pressure on the Government, business associations and garment owners so that they take initiatives to ensure safety and security of the garment workers.
14. Proposed new policy and procedures
15. Work with lawmakers to Implement and Imposed new policy, procedures and compliance by the government and regulatory agency

• Final Report (PDF)