The quarterly meeting of the ETI Bangladesh Brand Members’ Forum took place on August 7, 2023, in Dhaka. Eighteen representatives from sixteen well-known RMG brands attended this meeting to discuss collective approaches to improving industrial relations in the Bangladesh RMG industry.
The key agenda included reviewing the outcomes of the previous meeting, discussions on driving collective actions through the HRDD framework, and ETI's new initiative on Climate Change and Just Transition.
The first session reflects on the recommendations of the last meeting for the retention of women RMG workers. The participants discussed practical steps, insights, and initiatives focusing on empowering women workers in the factories. They further recommended organizing a dedicated session with the forum’s members to develop a priority-based collective action plan with key performance indicators (KPIs).
The session on Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) started with a discussion, which covered the concept of HRDD, its importance, and the framework for integrating and strengthening HRDD in the supply chains. In the group exercise, participants also identified what BRANDs are doing and what more they can do in three pillars of the HRDD framework: protect, respect and remedy.
At the meeting, ETI Bangladesh announced its fresh initiative- "Promoting Just Transition and Environmental Sustainability in the Bangladesh RMG Industry." This project aims at creating a supportive constituency, especially among the sectoral level multi-stakeholders, that works together towards a climate-friendly RMG sector. In partnership with BRAC University, a perception survey and policy mapping exercise has already been initiated under this project. Brands’ representatives appreciated ETI for this new initiative and promised to extend their support at the implementation levels.
