ILO seeks support in carrying out RMG unit assessments

The ILO has urged the government and the BGMEA and BKMEA to cooperate in carrying out assessment in the ready-made garment (RMG) factories.   
The ILO at a meeting on Thursday sought the cooperation as a significant number of apparel makers are allegedly not cooperating over fire, electrical and structural safety assessment under the joint initiative by Bangladesh government and ILO.
The National Tripartite Committee meeting, headed by Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar, was held at his secretariat office in the city.
Representatives from Accord, ILO, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), among others, were present in the meeting.
The meeting discussed elaborately the progress of garment factory inspection and its post-inspection remediation activities and the challenges ahead of it, meeting sources said.
ILO Country Director Srinivas Reddy said the teams are ready to assess but have been facing difficulties as many of the owners are not willing to give them appointment to conduct the assessment while some of them are dillydallying with the process.
"A significant number of garment factories do not want inspection and they are not co-operating with the engineers appointed by ILO," he told the FE after the meeting.  
TUV-SUD Bangladesh Pvt Ltd and Veritas Engineering and Consultant are assessing the rest of the garment factories that remain outside the inspection purview of Accord and Alliance under the govt-ILO joint programme under National Tripartite Plan of Action.
Vice-President of BGMEA Md Shahidullah Azim said they have sought the list of such factories and assured them of taking necessary steps in this connection. "All the factories have to come under the assessment porgramme to remain in the business," he warned.
The meeting disclosed that some 2,560 apparel factories have so far been initially assessed by the three initiatives with Accord assessing 1,183, Alliance 647 and NTPA 730, DIFE IG Syed Ahmed said.
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