Govt panel starts inspecting RMG units

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Jubair Hasan A government-commissioned panel started Saturday their drive to identify the country's garment factories not complying with safety standards. The efforts would help polish the bad image of the country's clothing sector after the deadliest industrial accident at Savar in Dhaka recently, a panel member said. The apparel sector came under the spotlight of global brands, rights groups and labour organisations after the Rana Plaza collapse that claimed lives of above 1100 workers, he added. The move would help ensure better working conditions in the largest export-oriented sector, he added. On the first day the panel members visited only four readymade garment (RMG) factories in the city's Gulshan and Banani areas and found all of them 'non-compliant' in terms of building construction and other safety standards. The panel members attached more importance to structural designs of the factories, the fire safety measures and the rights and welfare aspects of the workers, said the joint secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Mizanur Rahman, who is also a member of the panel. The panel members vowed to inspect around 2,000 to 2,500 factories across the country out of about 4,500 units, including those in greater Dhaka and Chittagong regions. The factories now running in rented spaces would come under the lens of the expert panel, another member said. The expert panel, headed by Jute and Textile Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui, was formed after the deadliest industrial accident at Savar in Dhaka. High officials of different ministries and representatives from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) are the other members of the panel. "We have found several cracks in rooftops, beams and columns of the commercial building housing three of the four inspected units," Executive Engineer of Public Works Department (PWD) Sarder Moinul Islam, another member of the panel, told the FE. The three factories are: Cloth and Fashions Limited, Apparel Industry Limited and Samaron Fashions-in the six-storey commercial building on the New Airport Road at Chairman Bari, Banani. The other factory-Eve Garments Limited-is located at Gulshan-1 in the city. "We inspected the factories physically and also interacted with the owners based a long questionnaire, seeking specific information about structural designs of the buildings, fire safety measures and the workers' rights and welfare aspects," Mr Mizanur Rahman told the FE. "As part of the plan, we have sought documents like factory layouts, machine layouts and fire safety licences from the factory owners," he said. However, none of the inspected buildings was built to house any garment factories, he added. Another member said they found some fire extinguishers out of order and workers of the inspected factories had no elementary knowledge about operating the extinguishers. Members of the panel then inspected the Eve Garment Limited at Gulshan-1 and inquired about the workplace safety, they said. "The most important thing is the factory authority installed their generator under the main staircase. So, no one could get down from the factory, if any fire originates from the generator," a panel member said. When asked about the workplace safety, Eve Garments Managing Director Nurul Islam claimed they had been addressing the safety issues. Talking to the FE, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Labour Foyzur Rahman, also coordinator of the panel, said eleven separate teams would inspect the garment factories in the next three months. The country's garment factories have been divided into 11 zones including Ashulia, Savar, Mirpur, Mohakhali and Kanchpur to facilitate the latest drive of the government. Jute and Textile Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui said the government took the initiative to identify the vulnerable garment factories and non-compliant ones. The vulnerable factories would be given a reasonable time to upgrade their standards so that interests of both owners and workers are protected. "We should not keep our eyes closed for long. The move will help establish international standards in the apparel sector and thus benefit the country." BGMEA leaders hailed the move.