European Union representatives, from the Team Europe Initiative, in addition to representatives from the Dhaka embassies for France and Italy, recently visited the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) tannery industrial estate, to observe the activities and working environments. Also in attendance were GIZ Bangladesh, the German agency for sustainable international development.

The Team Europe Initiative on Decent Work has been working to diversify the country’s economy, ensuring that the progress goes beyond the readymade garment sector. Under the framework of the European Union’s budget support in social protection, they are also working directly with the Government of Bangladesh in designing an improved social security framework for workers.

During the visit a dialogue was also conducted with the tannery workers union to better understand key challenges and to identify approaches to promote good governance.

The Team Europe Proposal activities include:

• Skills and employment
• Social protection in line with minimum international standards
• Demand-driven skills training and life-long opportunities with involvement of the private sector
• Quality basic education
• Employment services