The government has started taking action against the garment units that are doing business without any legal approval, sources said.
The units are also not members of either Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), and are doing sub-contracting jobs, they added.
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) has already issued legal notice to three such garment factories after finding them doing business without license.
The move came especially after BUET's (Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology) recommendation to the official review panel. Its expert team found safety risks in two buildings at Malibag and in Gazipur, accommodating seven garment factories.
BUET teams are assessing fire, electrical and structural integrity of garment factories that remained outside the purview of western retailers' inspection programmes.
Alongside the retailers' inspections, the local experts are also in action under a government-ILO joint project in the wake of some fatal accidents in the RMG sector.
Following the BUET recommendation, the official panel visited the six storied building at Malibag on November 15. The panel asked for immediate evacuation of its top two floors, and conduct detailed engineering assessment.
Fashion Linkers Ltd manufactured apparel products on those two floors. The rest three units, namely B K Apparels Ltd, J Alam Denim Ltd and RNZ Fashion Ltd, are running their production without any legal approval. They are not members of either BGMEA or BKMEA, and doing sub-contracting jobs, sources said.
"We have issued legal notice to them, asking to take license within the next seven working days," DIFE Inspector General Syed Ahmed told the FE Monday.
If the factories fail, DIFE will lodge case against them at the labour court. Gradually, the government will take legal action against all such units, he warned.
According to DIFE, there are about 800 garment factories that are not members of either BGMEA or BKMEA. Some 300 units, out of these 800, are running their production without any approval.
Without affiliation with any of the apex bodies, they are involved in outsourcing business. These units manufacture products for factories that are directly involved in apparel export. If they export directly, they have to have membership of either of the two associations on the basis of their product lines, according to officials.
The extent of various irregularities, including non-payment of wage and non-compliance of the government-announced wage structure and other rightful benefits, is much higher in the apparel factories, those are not members of BGMEA and BKMEA, they added.
munni_fe@yahoo.com
