Preparation of biometric database for the garment workers at Ashulia is progressing at snail’s pace as the factory owners are showing little interest to the direction of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
A total of 132 factories, out of around 300 located at Ashulia, have so far deposited money to the BGMEA for the creation of database and 80 factories have progressed in integrating 80 per cent workers in the database, said BGMEA leaders.
On May 20, the country’s apex trade body for garment manufacturers had instructed its member factories at the area to prepare a biometric database of their workers by August 30.
BGMEA leaders, however, said that it was a difficult task to incorporate all the workers under a database and so it would take time.
The database is being prepared in association with Tiger IT and Systech Digital Ltd by taking finger prints of workers, and will cost a factory owner around Tk 75,000 to Tk 4 lakh on basis of their manpower.
The BGMEA had said after the completion of for the garment workers at Ashulia other factories would be brought under the system.
The BGMEA currently has 5,500 member factories, of which 3,600 are in operation and 300 are located at Ashulia.
At the inauguration of a training programme for the mid-level management of factories, IT personnel and human resource professionals, at the BGMEA headquarters on May 20, BGMEA president Atiqul Islam had announced that the association had been trying to make a central workers’ database for a long time and it was now mandatory for all of the garment owners.
He had also announced that the BGMEA would not provide any service to those factories which would not introduce the workers’ database.
The BGMEA took the initiative following Rana Plaza building collapse, which killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garment workers.
Atiqul on Sunday told New Age, ‘I think it’s a good sign that we have started the work as the workers’ database was the major challenge for the sector’.
It would not be possible to complete the work by the deadline and so the time will be extended, he said.
Minhajul Islam, chairman for the utilisation declaration automation committee of the BGMEA, said it was a continuous process and the database was likely to be completed by September.
The owners are interested to prepare their workers’ database but most of the factories failed to deposit money as they have no previous idea on the matter, he said.
Minhajul said, ‘The process delayed due to the month of Ramadan and now we are hopeful that all of the factories at Ashulia will deposit the money.’
-With New Age input
