British experts will help Bangladesh improve safety and building standards in the country's garment sector in order to prevent incidents like the collapse of a commercial building that killed over 1,000 people in April.
The three-member team's visit this weekend comes in the wake of the collapse of the eight-storey Rana Plaza in Savar, Dhaka, that claimed the lives of more than 1,100 garment factory workers.
The experts, two from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and one from the Better Regulation Delivery Office, will visit at the request of the Bangladeshi building regulations agency to help tackle weaknesses in the industrial building inspections regime, UK Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening said today.
Their subsequent recommendations will help to protect workers by ensuring building standards and that safety measures are properly enforced, as well as making it easier for businesses to comply with their legal obligations.
The experts will examine building standards legislation, toughening it up to prevent people from dying in accidents, a release issued jointly by the Department for International Development and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said today.
The experts will scrutinise the current inspections regimes for existing and new buildings, including garment factories, and strengthen legislation enforcement.
They will also look at how the UK can help better enforce building standards, including in collaboration with private sector and International Labour Organisation initiatives.
"The tragic factory collapse in Bangladesh was a wake-up call about the appalling conditions that workers in the developing world endure to produce cheap clothes," Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening said.
British retailers and industry bodies like the Ethical Trading Initiative are already working with Department for International Development (DFID) to play their part in improving safety for workers, she said.
"Now we are sending out three UK experts to share their wealth of experience in safe and effective building regulation to help prevent future tragedies and save lives," Greening said.
During his visit to Bangladesh last June, Development Minister Alan Duncan also announced UK support for skill training for 100,000 low-skilled garment and construction workers to improve overall productivity and help produce higher-value products.
