Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Spanish retail giant Inditex have jointly opened a testing laboratory at the BGMEA office in Dhaka to conduct chemical and dye tests of exportable clothing items.
Inditex will provide technical supports for setting up the lab, which will go into operations soon, said BGMEA President Abdus Salam Murshedy at the inauguration yesterday.
Inditex Group, one of the world’s largest fashion retailers, has 4,607 stores in 74 countries.
Once the lab goes into operations, the exporters will be able to get their clothing items tested by paying a certain amount of fee, he said. At present, the exporters take such testing services from some international labs for certification.
Earlier, BGMEA signed a memorandum of understanding with Inditex in Spain on April 29 to set up the lab.
While inaugurating the lab as the chief guest, Labour and Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain asked the garment owners to pay the salary and other benefits to the workers in time before Eid-ul-Azha.
The minister also stressed that the new wage structure for the garment workers will come into effect from November 1.
“We will sit with all stakeholders soon to discuss the complaints of the workers and owners, but the new wage will be effective from November 1,” he said.
He also handed over cheques to the relatives of 20 deceased workers of different RMG factories.
At the function, Antonio Abril Abadin, general counsel and secretary of the board of Inditex SA, said his company will continue supports for the development of readymade garment sector in Bangladesh.
Spanish Ambassador in Dhaka Arturo Manuel Perez Martinez said Spain is dependent on import of clothing items and in this case Bangladesh is playing an important role.
