Swedish government in collaboration in Bangladesh
We welcome the new co-operation between the Swedish and Bangladeshi governments and the UN body ILO. It aims at strengthening the relation between the actors in the labor market and promoting social dialogue in the Bangladeshi textile industry. These are important ambitions and in line with H&M’s already ongoing work. The collaboration agreement was signed during the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
Bangladesh is an important production market for us and we have worked to promote a stable labour market for many years. Thanks to our long experience from the Bangladeshi textile industry as well as our knowledge within the social dialogue area, we are able to contribute to this new collaboration hands-on.
For example, we are running a social dialogue programme in Bangladesh aiming at democratically elected employee committees at the supplier factories, which is an important part of our fair living wage strategy. Our goal is that all factories that produce for H&M will be covered by the project during 2018. Furthermore, we collaborate with the ILO and SIDA within skill development in Bangladesh. The project was initiated in 2013, and is also closely linked to our work within the wage area. This work aims at creating a link between actual skills and the wage level as well as improved productivity and occupational safety in the textile industry.