Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2013-05-23-Speech-4-061-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20130523.7.4-061-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Madam President, I am also speaking in my capacity as Chair of the Delegation for relations with South Asia, which covers Bangladesh. In that capacity, I have also issued a statement of condolence to the families of those tragically killed.
A few days ago, Bangladesh moved over 1 million people out of danger from an approaching cyclone. There we saw 13 deaths, mainly people hit by trees, and loss of property. Why am I mentioning this? Well, because I think that it shows what can be done to reduce disasters and risks when government and civil society work together with international help. We need the same determined attitude to risk reduction in the textiles sector, and I could add shipbreaking as well. In the textiles sector we have over 4 million people, mainly women, who ought to be able to feel that they can return home safely after the end of a working day having earned a decent living wage. That has implications – as others have mentioned – for the prices actually paid by the buyers.
These recent tragedies have no doubt raised the issue’s profile, and they have certainly raised political pressure. We are seeing a concerted response at the moment, and I am really pleased that the ILO is in there and that the European Union is also offering its support. The accord on fire and building safety, which brings together the trade unions, NGOs, government and the textile retailers, is important. I do not think that we should step back from naming companies who have yet to sign up. That public pressure is really important and, as my colleague has said, it is the coordinated holistic response, not a series of parallel inspections, that is really needed.
Equally, some of the other measures that we have talked about, in terms of corporate social responsibility, need to be enforced. So my group will not be supporting the amendments to write these issues out of this resolution. The action plan is certainly to be welcomed. That strengthened role for trade unions, I think we would all agree, is extremely important within this, as is their ability to organise freely and to hold management to account. Management responsibility in Rana Plaza was desperately lacking. Bringing in additional inspectors who have to be able to do their job properly without interference is also important. We would also echo that GSP should be an incentive: yes, there are obviously consequences if you don’t move forward on it, but let us start with the incentive first and across all countries. This is something we should also be considering in the India Free Trade Agreement, as India also has a big textile sector that needs attention."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples