2 taskforces to oversee RMG post-inspection activities

The government has formed two taskforces to oversee the post-inspection activities in the RMG sector, including hiring consultancy firms to conduct detailed engineering analysis (DEA) as well as approving corrective action plan (CAP) and monitoring its implementation, officials said.

The move came at the eight meeting of the National Tripartite Committee (NTC) on 'National Tripartite Plan of Action (NTPA) on Fire, Electrical and Structural Integrity for the Ready-Made Garment Sector in Bangladesh', chaired by Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar.

Headed by the Inspector General (IG) of Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), both the committees are comprised of representatives from BUET, RAJUK, and Fire Service and Civil Defense.

"The meeting discussed the protocol of the official review panel, especially in post-inspection period, and NTC has formed two taskforces in this regard," said Mr Mikail Shipar after the meeting.

The two taskforces - one for structural and the other for fire and electrical safety issues - will seek proposals from interested firms, having at least five years of related experiences to conduct DEA, DIFE IG Syed Ahmed told the FE.

Factory owners can conduct DEA by the DIFE-nominated firms, and DEA design and CAP will be approved by the taskforces, he added.  

BUET is assessing garment factories that remain outside the purview of Accord and Alliance, under a joint project of the government and ILO, officials said.  

The BUET experts are only identifying faults and recommending what to do, but without CAP it is not possible to carry out the recommendations.  Following the incident, the government formed these two bodies to bring the desired result, they added.

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