Factory inspection likely to begin late this month
The government and the International Labour Organisation are jointly going to launch a project to address the challenges the country’s readymade garments sector is facing now, labour ministry officials said. They said the project would be commenced on October 22.
Under the project ‘improving working conditions in the RMG sector’, the ILO will provide $24 million to ensure fire and building safety and to secure lasting improvements in the working conditions in the sector, they said.
The officials said the fund would be used in inspection of structural integrity and fire safety of apparel factories and in training of stakeholders including owners, workers and trade union leaders.
Under a tripartite action plan, the government earlier decided that it would start inspecting building and fire safety of around 3,500 RMG units from September 15.
After the launch of the project, the government will begin inspection of building and fire safety of the apparel factories by late October, the labour ministry officials said.
Thirty technical teams from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology will conduct inspection of the apparel factories.
For factory inspection the labour ministry has already prepared a fire and building manual or a set of check lists with the assistance of experts from BUET.
‘The government will begin inspection of structural integrity and fire safety of apparel factories as soon as possible after the project is launched on October 22,’ labour secretary Mikail Shipar told New Age on Monday.
A set of common standards for the inspection may be finalised in consultation with the two consortiums of North American and EU retail brands over the safety issue in the apparel sector in Bangladesh — Alliance and Accord, he said.
After the Rana Plaza collapse on April 24 that killed 1,133 people, mostly garment workers, the North American Alliance and EU Accord announced that they would inspect fire and structural safety of the garment units which produced clothes for them. After the announcement, the government and the ILO decided to inspect rest of the factories.
There are around 5,500 garment units in the country that bring more than $20 billion export earnings annually and employ around 40 lakh people, mostly women.
Of the factories, Accord will inspect more than 1,600 factories while Alliance will inspect 500 factories and rest of the units will be inspected by the government.
Labour ministry officials said that earlier in September 7, Alliance and Accord agreed in principle to inspect the factories under common standards finalised by the government for the inspection.
Alliance has already submitted its check list while Accord is yet to do so, they said.
A high official of the labour ministry said that the government would finalise common standards after holding discussions with the Alliance and Accord in October.
‘If the common standards are not set by this time, the ministry will start factory inspection by late October following the check list prepared by BUET,’ he said.
The check list has been prepared based on the fire, electrical and building safety laws and rules existing in the country, he said.
The government does not want to make further delay in starting the inspection as it wants to convey a positive message to the international communities, particularly to the USA and EU, for retaining GSP facility in US market and keeping the facility unharmed in EU, he said.
In December, the USA will review its suspension of generalised system of preferences facility for the Bangladeshi products in entering its market.
In June, the country suspended the GSP facility due to Bangladesh’s failure in ensuring building and fire safety at the RMG factories after the Tazreen Fashions fire at Ashulia on November 24 last year which killed 112 workers and the Rana Plaza collapse at Savar.
Officials said that the ILO, labour ministry and Economic Relations Division would sign an agreement on the project at the launching ceremony on October 22.
-With New Age input
