IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/epw/politi/v2y2023i5id8110.html

State’s Obligation to Ratify ILO Conventions C155, C161 and C187: A Review of Bangladesh’s RMG Sector

Author

Listed:
  • ASM Anam Ullah

Abstract

Bangladesh has ratified several ILO conventions as a developing country, including some fundamental ones. However, in the dearth of adequate enforcement of Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 (amended in 2013) and ILO conventions, Bangladesh’s Ready-made Garment (RMG) industry has faced appalling working conditions, leading to serious factory accidents like the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013. Nevertheless, the study’s findings show that Bangladesh needs more political will to ratify the essential ILO Conventions C155, C161 and C187. These essential Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Conventions mandate states and organisations to follow international standards at the workplace. Therefore, this research study aims to explain why the ILO has significantly failed to persuade the Government of Bangladesh to ratify these three ILO OHS conventions and how this can be achieved through discussing this study and the recommendations derived from the data analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • ASM Anam Ullah, 2023. "State’s Obligation to Ratify ILO Conventions C155, C161 and C187: A Review of Bangladesh’s RMG Sector," European Journal of Law and Political Science, European Open Science, vol. 2(5), pages 8-21, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:epw:politi:v:2:y:2023:i:5:id:8110
    DOI: 10.24018/ejpolitics.2023.2.5.110
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://eu-opensci.org/index.php/politics/article/view/8110
    File Function: Abstract page
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://eu-opensci.org/index.php/politics/article/download/8110/1366
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.24018/ejpolitics.2023.2.5.110?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Islam, Muhammad Azizul & McPhail, Ken, 2011. "Regulating for corporate human rights abuses: The emergence of corporate reporting on the ILO's human rights standards within the global garment manufacturing and retail industry," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(8), pages 790-810.
    2. Jennifer Bair & Mark Anner & Jeremy Blasi, 2020. "The Political Economy of Private and Public Regulation in Post-Rana Plaza Bangladesh," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(4), pages 969-994, August.
    3. Harvey, David, 2007. "A Brief History of Neoliberalism," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199283279.
    4. Humayun Kabir & Myfanwy Maple & Md. Shahidul Islam & Kim Usher, 2022. "The Paradoxical Impacts of the Minimum Wage Implementation on Ready-made Garment (RMG) Workers: A Qualitative Study," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 65(2), pages 545-569, June.
    5. Ashwin, Sarah & Kabeer, Naila & Schüßler, Elke, 2020. "Contested understandings in the global garment industry after Rana Plaza," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102350, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Sarah Ashwin & Naila Kabeer & Elke Schüßler, 2020. "Contested Understandings in the Global Garment Industry after Rana Plaza," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(5), pages 1296-1305, September.
    7. Rosida Ibrahim & Sutrisno T & M. Khoiru Rusydi, 2021. "The influence factors of tax avoidance in Indonesia," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 10(5), pages 01-10, July.
    8. Shahidur Rahman & Kazi Mahmudur Rahman, 2020. "Multi‐actor Initiatives after Rana Plaza: Factory Managers’ Views," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(5), pages 1331-1359, September.
    9. Meng, Bo & Gao, Yuning & Ye, Jiabai & Zhang, Meichen & Xing, Yuqing, 2022. "Trade in factor income and the US-China trade balance," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    10. Khondoker Abdul Mottaleb & Tetsushi Sonobe, 2011. "An Inquiry into the Rapid Growth of the Garment Industry in Bangladesh," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(1), pages 67-89.
    11. Pk. Md. Motiur Rahman & Noriatsu Matsui & Yukio Ikemoto, 2013. "Dynamics of Poverty in Rural Bangladesh," Springer Books, Springer, edition 127, number 978-4-431-54285-8, January.
    12. Yamagata, Tatsufumi, 2007. "Prospects for Development of the Garment Industry in Developing Countries: What Has Happened Since the MFA Phase-Out?," IDE Discussion Papers 101, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    13. Sanchita Banerjee Saxena, 2022. "Developing country responses to demands for improved labor standards: case studies from the garment and textiles industry in Asia," Chapters, in: Handbook on Globalisation and Labour Standards, chapter 14, pages 258-273, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. ASM Anam Ullah, 2024. "Explaining Low Level of Trade Unionism: The Case of RMG Sector in Bangladesh," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 67(3), pages 909-933, September.
    2. Lilac Nachum & Stephan Manning & Sankar Sen, 2025. "Consumers as regulators of global value chains’ conduct? A consumer-inclusive framework of change," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(2), pages 172-193, June.
    3. Sarosh Kuruvilla & Chunyun Li, 2021. "Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining in Global Supply Chains: A Research Agenda," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 57(2), pages 43-57, April.
    4. Gary GEREFFI & Anne Caroline POSTHUMA & Arianna ROSSI, 2021. "Introduction: Disruptions in global value chains – Continuity or change for labour governance?," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 160(4), pages 501-517, December.
    5. Jenny COLLINS & Julian S. YATES, 2023. "Leveraging transparency to shift capital‐labour relations in garment sector production: A critical analysis of the design and structure of the Bangladesh Accord," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(4), pages 641-664, December.
    6. Jette Steen Knudsen & Erin Leitheiser & Jeremy Moon, 2025. "Media portrayals of post-Rana Plaza CSR initiatives for worker safety: perspectives on legitimacy from Bangladesh, the UK and the USA," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(5), pages 704-741, November.
    7. Sheba Tejani & David Kucera, 2021. "Defeminization, Structural Transformation and Technological Upgrading in Manufacturing," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 52(3), pages 533-573, May.
    8. Krywalski-Santiago Joanna, 2024. "Navigating Sustainable Transformation in the Fashion Industry: The Role of Circular Economy and Ethical Consumer Behavior," Journal of Intercultural Management, Sciendo, vol. 16(3), pages 5-36.
    9. Murshid, Nadine Shaanta & Irish, Andrew, 2020. "Understanding teen sex in Bangladesh: Results from Global School Health Survey 2014," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    10. Ishtehar Sharif Swazan & Debanjan Das, 2022. "Bangladesh's Emergence as a Ready-Made Garment Export Leader: An Examination of the Competitive Advantages of the Garment Industry," International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 162-174, December.
    11. Robert Pollin, 2008. "Considerations on Interest Rate Exogeneity," Working Papers wp177, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    12. Khondoker Abdul Mottaleb & Dil Bahadur Rahut, 2019. "Impacts of Improved Infrastructure on Labor Allocation and Livelihoods: The Case of the Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge, Bangladesh," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(4), pages 750-778, September.
    13. Howard Stein, 2012. "The Neoliberal Policy Paradigm and the Great Recession," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 59(4), pages 421-440, September.
    14. Greg Seymour & Maria S. Floro, 2016. "Identity, Household Work, and Subjective Well-Being among Rural Women in Bangladesh," Working Papers id:11520, eSocialSciences.
    15. Jamie Redman, 2020. "The Benefit Sanction: A Correctional Device or a Weapon of Disgust?," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 25(1), pages 84-100, March.
    16. Girum Abebe & Tetsushi Sonobe, 2012. "Management Practices, Self-Selection into Management Training Participation, and Training Effects in the Garment Industry in Ethiopia," GRIPS Discussion Papers 11-23, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
    17. Ryan Higgitt, 2013. "Colonialism, Casteism and Development: South-South Cooperation as a ‘New’ Development Paradigm," Working Papers 112, International Policy Centre.
    18. Matthew Amengual & Sarosh Kuruvilla, 2020. "Editorial Essay: Introduction to a Special Issue on Improving Private Regulation of Labor in Global Supply Chains: Theory and Evidence," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(4), pages 809-816, August.
    19. Hilary Silver & Alan Scott & Yuri Kazepov, 2010. "Participation in Urban Contention and Deliberation," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 453-477, September.
    20. Islam, Muhammad Azizul & Deegan, Craig & Haque, Shamima, 2021. "Corporate human rights performance and moral power: A study of retail MNCs’ supply chains in Bangladesh," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:epw:politi:v:2:y:2023:i:5:id:8110. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://eu-opensci.org/index.php/politics .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.