One-third of RMG units non-compliant

FE Team | Published: May 25, 2013 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Jubair Hasan About one third of the ready-made garment (RMG) factories in and around Dhaka lack in fire safety arrangements at their minimum. This estimate is based on the field-level inspection by the Fire Department. It has found that 30.50 per cent of the RMG factories located in the capital city and on its adjacent areas are non-compliant with the minimum level of fire safety requirements. This implies that the country's largest foreign exchange-earning sector, in gross value terms, is vulnerable to recurring fire accidents. Of the units located at Ashulia, Savar, Narayanganj and in the capital city, the department found that 53.20 per cent of them were following safety measures, though those were not up to the mark. The department, however, identified only 16.30 per cent of the RMG factories as having proper fire safety arrangements to protect their workers, apart from losses of their costly apparel-making machinery and finished products. As far back as in 2000, the government ordered the apparel makers to recruit experienced fire officers to ensure safety for the apparel units. The authorities also then warned of stern actions, to be taken against those not abiding by the order. A decade has elapsed, but many apparel factory owners are yet to meet this requirement. As a result, the most leading industrial sector in the country's economy, accounting for over three-fourths of its aggregate annual exports, has witnessed a large number of small and big fire incidents over the last ten years. All such incidents have led to the deaths of several hundred workers, besides the loss of an hefty amount of money, in terms of value of industrial assets including raw materials. The issue of fire safety at the RMG factories figured in prominently following the deadly blaze that had killed at least 112 workers at Tazreen Fashions in Ashulia on November 24, 2012. The country's Fire Service and Civil Defence Directorate launched a special drive, in the aftermath of that incident, to identify RMG factories having a 'dismal' safety system. Since then, fifteen teams of the department have so far inspected 797 apparel factories in Ashulia and found 243 of them to be not following the minimum safety measures. According to the inspection reports, 424 apparel factories have fire safety steps, but those are not satisfactory, and only 130 units fully comply with the fire safety system. The teams, comprising 45 officials, were engaged in the inspection job and submitted their findings to the directorate, said M Abdus Salam, director of Fire Service and Civil Defence (administration and finance), who led the drive with the help of the police personnel.He said the factories surveyed did not organise monthly fire drills or arrange training for the workers and members of the staff. Fire extinguishers were not even refilled at many factories, he said. During the drive, they checked on whether the factories had adequate fire-fighting equipment, emergency fire exits and evacuation arrangements, and also whether the management trained workers in tackling fire incidents. The validity period for fire-fighting equipment at several factories was found to have expired and the workers had not been imparted training on using them, he said. The senior fireman noted that the inspection process was postponed because of the Rana Plaza collapse as they had to be engaged with the rescue operation after the massive disaster. "The remaining part of the inspection works about the state of the fire fighting arrangements in RMG factories will resume soon," he said, adding they might recommend for cancellation of fire service licences of the non-compliant factories. Preferring anonymity, another fireman involved with the inspection works said they have started the process of writing letters to the owners of the factories having poor or no proper fire safety systems, suggesting them to put in place the necessary fire safety installations in a month's time. "We'll again inspect the units, when the deadline expires," he said, adding that they would submit a report to the ministry of home affairs with recommendations to take punitive measures against the non-compliant owners. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the country's apex apparel body, has already formed a task force and set a time-limit for the garment owners to upgrade fire safety measures at their factories. S. M. Mannan Kochi, BGMEA second vice-president, said they have focused seriously on the safety-related issues following frequent industrial accidents. "Not only the fire-related ones, structural safety measures will also be scrutinised as part of the latest move," he said, adding that they have also formed two committees to examine the matters. He, however, welcomed the initiative of the fire department, saying it would help them ensure better working condition for the factories. Commenting on such state of developments, vice-Chairman of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) Mojibur Rahman Bhuiyan told the FE thar the formation of a task force by BGMEA was nothing but an eyewash as BGMEA had been undertaking such exercises after every industrial accident but with no result. The government, he said, should immediately pay serious attention to the much critical safety issues at the apparel factories and play the key role in prompting the owners to install safety measures. "Otherwise, the situation will not improve," he added.