ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Textile Industry will organize "Buyers Conference" during next month aiming at strengthening the compliance of Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+)
Buyers' forum will facilitate and promote a dialogue platform between buyers and manufacturers to discuss sustainable practices and improved compliance and reporting on environmental, labour, health and safety standards and their implementation in the textile sector of the country, said a press release here.
The conference will be organized in collaboration with the Embassy of Netherlands, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
In this regard a consultative meeting was held under the chairpersonship of Secretary MinTex for finalizing the names of major international buying chains as well as focal persons from Pakistani side to attend the buyers' conference.
It said that the forum is a joint effort from all stakeholders with the sole aim of strengthening GSP plus compliance for sustainable development of local textile industry.
The purpose of this forum is to bring together all the stakeholders so that they come up with a concrete mechanism that may guarantee raised standards and compliance.
The statement further said that GSP-Plus is conditional to ratification and compliance to 27 international standards and covenants on labour, human, women rights, environment, narcotics and corruption.
These 27 standards comprise eight ILO core labour conventions, six UN conventions on human rights and gender and racial discrimination, nine UN protocols on environment and four UN conventions on narcotics and corruption.
There is a strong consensus that compliance with environmental, labour and health, safety standards is critical to maintain GSP Plus status as well as for enhanced business productivity and sustainability of the country.
In order to meet these requirements, Ministry of Textile Industry has devised an integrated approach involving government, workers' and employers' organizations as well as international buyers.
Regional models like `ALLIANCE" for Bangladesh workers safety and IFC Bangladesh Buyers Forum may serve as an example. Buyers' forum would focus on brand compliance monitoring system, brand collaboration, engagement and replication.
In view of these developments, a series of efforts has already been initiated for strengthening compliance with international labour standards.
Treaty Implementation Cell and Human Rights Directorate are already working to ensure compliance and effective implementation of these laws, it added.
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