The government has decided to take stern action against the garment factories that would fail to conduct structural, fire and electrical assessment under the national initiative, officials said.
However, they said the authorities are yet to take any concrete decision on the garment factories, not affiliated with either Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).
The number of such factories ranges from 700 to 800.
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) on June 01 issued a circular, available on its website, which said listed garment factory assessment under the national initiative would end on July 30 next.
"Punitive action including stop of factory production will be taken against the factory authorities that will fail to conduct inspection," said the circular.
The government's move came following the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) announcement that it would not bear the cost of initial assessment of garment factories after the expiry of its July revised deadline.
The DIFE also requested all the factories listed under the national initiative to conduct structural, fire and electrical assessment within the July deadline. Currently, such assessment under the joint-programmae is done at free of cost.
Roughly 1,500 factories, which remain outside the purview of the Accord and Alliance, are expected to be assessed by a government-ILO joint programme and ILO is paying the cost of inspection.
Earlier, the government-ILO joint initiative under the National Plan of Action set the April, 30, 2015 deadline to complete the assessment of garment factories, mainly members of either the BGMEA or BKMEA.
The joint-assessment programme began in November 2013. Some 800 garment factories so far been assessed under the initiative, while Accord and Alliance inspected their listed factories within the set timeframe.
The assessment programme was reportedly delayed by non-cooperation from the factory management and inconsistencies in information including factory addresses and contact numbers the ILO received from the apparel industry associations.
"We would like to complete everything before July 31. If any factory left out, they need to pay for factory inspection," ILO country director Srinivas Reddy recently told the FE.
He explained that his agency has set the revised deadline for free assessment, which has been delayed for various reasons, including non-cooperation from the factory management.
After the expiry of the revised deadline, building and factory owners have to bear the cost of assessment, he said.
When asked, DIFE Inspector General Syed Ahmed said: "All the garment factories have to come under the assessment programme and we are working in this regard, especially on the factories that are not members of BGMEA and BKMEA."
The government is trying to raise fund to bring the non-member factories under the assessment programme, sources said.
Regarding the warning, Mr Ahmed said some 11 garment factories, which were unwilling to be assessed in the past, informed Tuesday that they are now interested to receive the free inspection service.
munni_fe@yahoo.com
Errant garment factories face action
Monira Munni | Published: June 04, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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