Dhaka: The RMG sector’s overall progress towards completing the remedial initiatives aimed at establishing good governance in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013 has been termed ‘satisfactory’ by Transparency International Bangladesh.

According to a new TIB study, revealed to coincide with the third anniversary of the biggest industrial disaster in the sector’s history, the authorities took 106 initiatives in the RMG sector after the Rana Plaza collapse.

‘Marked progress’ has been achieved in 77% of these steps, according to TIB. The rest, however, lag behind with either ‘low progress’ or at ‘standstill’.

The report titled, ‘Governance in ready-made garment (RMG) sector: progress, challenges and way forward’ was made public at the TIB office in Dhaka on Thursday.

TIB Programme Manager Manzur E Huda presented the findings at the press conference while TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman, Deputy Executive Director Sumaiya Khair, Director (policy research) Mohammad Rafiqul Hasan and Assistant Programme Manager Nazmul Huda Mina were present.

To remove the barriers to good governance in the RMG sector after the deadly building collapse that killed at least 1135 workers, the study notes that the government till now had taken various initiatives, namely approval of a labour bill for EPZ workers in cabinet, setting up of EPZ labour court and labour appellate tribunal and approval of labour rules.

About 95 percent of the RMG factories are now providing wages to their workers following the guidelines of the Minimum Wage Board, and most compliant factories have distributed identity cards to their workers with emergency phone numbers.

Iftekharuzzaman said the progress brought about in the sector within the space of three years is satisfactory, but it must continue in the same vein, with no room for complacency.

‘Bringing infrastructural, ethical and legal progresses are not enough to sustain the progress,’ he said, insisting realistic implementation progress is a must to establish governance and ensure transparency in the RMG sector in real sense.

Many challenges still remain in the sector, the TIB chief warned, which need to be addressed.

The study proposes a set of recommendations to address the challenges of the RMG sector. These include forming a separate ministry on RMG sector, taking steps to ensure technical compliance in factories which are not members of BGMEA or BKMEA, accelerating the formation of workers’ welfare fund, and bringing the perpetrators of the Rana Plaza disaster to justice under the Speedy Trial Tribunal.