A permanent tripartite consultative council will be formed in Bangladesh to address labor-related issues. The council will have representatives from workers in the readymade garment sector and factory owners from compliant factories and will consist of the government, representatives of the apparel sector and workers.

It aims at a proper system and regular dialogues among the government, workers and owners’ representatives for keeping sound and harmonious industrial relations and promptly responding during crisis situations and also play a pro-active role in this regard. It will aim at mitigating problems, especially industrial unrest, and thus reduce the distance between employers and employees.

The belief is that a permanent tripartite consultative council for the readymade garment sector will take it forward and act as a bridge between employers and employees to reduce the trust deficit. It is also seen as enabling the garment sector to make workers its partners in its journey toward the achievement of the ambitious 50 billion dollar garment export target by 2021.

Most garment workers are women and women want adequate representation in the proposed committee. The council may include representatives of global apparel brands since they are also part of the supply chain. Bangladesh is the second-largest apparel exporter in the world.