Coverage well below target, corrective actions missing

The government and ILO-led readymade garment (RMG) factory inspection is unlikely to bring the desired transformation mainly due to the absence of a post-assessment corrective action plan (CAP), timely monitoring and fund required for remediation, industry insiders said.
Besides, the joint project is lagging behind, compared to those being implemented by the western retailer groups, as only one third of the listed factories had been assessed so far, they added.
Accord and Alliance -- two initiatives launched by the western retailers -- are providing CAP, monitoring execution of the recommendations and also providing fund or are in negotiation in this regard while the BUET-assessed factories are yet to get any CAP, they noted. Under the government-ILO joint project, which was launched in October last year, some 1,500 to 2,000 factories were expected to be assessed. These factories have been kept outside the surveys being carried out by Accord and Alliance.
The BUET was given the contract to assess 1,000 factories in two phases and it could inspect some 600 until now, according to ILO sources.   
But the BUET did not provide any CAP for the 600 factories assessed by its experts since November '13 to till date.
"We were asked to assess the factories. We have identified the faults and recommended what to do but nothing was suggested how to carry them out, as done by Accord or Alliance," Maksud Helali, a BUET professor, also involved in the inspection programme, told the FE.
There are some factories with amber markings that were recommended to conduct detailed engineering analysis (DEA) within six weeks, Mehedi Ahmed Ansari, another BUET professor said. But many of them are yet to do that though time is over, he added.
There are other recommendations to be implemented within a six-month timeframe, he said adding, "There is none to look into the issues whether those are being executed."
Accord and Alliance-listed factories can have DEA conducted by any expert teams but the designs must be approved before execution by experts of Accord or Alliance, sources said. They are also to keep the process under their strict monitoring, which is absent for factories assessed by the BUET.
"A buyer can reject the corrective action plan saying that it is not done under supervision of any authorised or certified body," a manufacturer alleged.
Mr Mehedi, however, suggested formation of a core committee with representatives from the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), the RAJUK, the Fire Service and experts to monitor all the processes.
When contacted, Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar said, the DIFE will monitor all the post-inspection activities.
"I agree the pace is slow due to lack of manpower," he said expressing the hope that the monitoring programme would be speeded up with recruitment of more inspectors.
Replying to a question, Steve Needham, Senior Communications Officer of the ILO said through an email, "It is vital that corrective measures are carried out and that there is a systematic follow-up and monitoring by the relevant oversight authorities. The ILO is providing support to the DIFE so that it is better able to put in place the mechanisms for systematic and comprehensive follow-up of fire and structural inspections."
When asked, Syed Ahmed, Inspector General of the DIFE, said, the authority has directed its inspectors to bring the factories, especially already assessed by the BUET, under its vigilance last month.
"The inspectors in four zones -- Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chittagong -- will provide a monthly report incorporating the details as to how many DEAs were carried out, are in mid-level and who are there to do it," he added.
Shahidur Rahman, managing director of Bengal Glory, a garment factory assessed by the BUET, said, he is executing its recommendations.
"Lack of fund is the main barrier for factories, especially for the small ones, to bring the necessary changes," he noted.
Echoing Mr Rahman, Md Shahidullah Azim, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said funds should be made available for factories, especially small and medium ones, to bring the desired transformation of the whole industry.
The recently-concluded Dhaka Apparel Summit also pressed the funding issue for small and medium-sized factories saying majority of them do sub-contracting.
Regarding fund, Mr Shipar said the inspection programme is facing some crisis including fund release and they don't have any opportunity to think about remediation fund at present.
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