Separate body to oversee RMG factory inspection prog stressed

Speakers at a discussion called for formation of a separate commission to oversee the factory inspection programmes for ensuring labour rights and workplace safety in the country's readymade garment (RMG) sector.
They also demanded of the foreign buyers to increase price of apparel items to help Bangladesh's garment makers meet the safety related compliances and workers' enhanced wages.  
Physicians for Social Responsibility, Bangladesh (PSR,B) and Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (Bapa) jointly organised the discussion on 'Safe Workplace and Health Environment of RMG Workers' at the National Press Club auditorium in the city on Tuesday.
Emphasising on formation of a separate commission, Bapa joint general secretary architect Iqbal Habib said it is needed to save the RMG sector from various local and international threats.
"If we have a separate commission to supervise the compliance issues in the RMG sector, help of Accord and Alliance would not be required," he said.
Mr Habib also emphasised on formation of a National Disaster Response Force to successfully fight against any kind of accidents in the RMG sector.  
Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Engineer Khandker Mosharraf Hossain said a gap has been created between the growth in the RMG sector and social development in the last couple of decades.
"No country in the world saw such tremendous growth in any sector the country has achieved from 1980. However, social investment in the RMG sector did not come accordingly," he said.
The minister said almost 95 per cent of the RMG businesses are the first generation and the workers are also the same.
"So, constant programmes are needed to wipe out prevailing problems in the sector," he added.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) vice president SM Mannan Kochi said their organisation has been conducting various activities to ensure workers' rights.
PSR,B president Prof Dr Kamrul Hasan Khan stressed the need for a national consensus to make the RMG industry sustainable by eliminating all kinds of problems.
Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) organising secretary Dr Uttam Kumar Barua urged the government to bring all the RMG workers under the insurance coverage.
Researcher Dr Beena Shikdar presented a keynote at the discussion. Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP) central leader Dr Wazedul Islam Khan, Bapa general secretary Dr MA Matin, Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) assistant executive director Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed addressed the discussion, among others while PSR,B general secretary Prof AKM Malek moderated it.