EU threatens to withdraw GPS for Bangladesh
The EU Parliament discussed in a session the possible withdrawing of the GPS Generalised System of Preference as a direct action after the tragic events in Bangladeshi textile factories
As we are all aware, there are various actions taken by customers of the Bangladeshi suppliers to assist to make conditions for textile workers better. The government has amended the minimum wages and the coalition by international textile Unions jointly with over 30 large customers in Europe and the U.S.A. will provoke a further beneficial effect. On the other hand, American WalMart has not yet signed such a binding agreement, because they have taken their own efforts to strengthen the security and working conditions of Bangladeshi textile labour.
The EU is threatening to withdraw the GPS status for Bangladesh, but they consider firsts all the actions taken by the authorities as well as by customers of the textile industry before really moving to a withdrawal. In the discussions it was made evident that this will increase the pressure on the government to take some lasting measures of improvement on behalf of its textile labour force.