Garment units reel from safety threats

Most garment factories have structural flaws due to poor implementation of laws, a global alliance of retailers said yesterday.
Around 74 percent of the garment factories were established before the enforcement of the Bangladesh National Building Code, said Mesbah Rabin, managing director of Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a platform of 26 North American clothing retailers.
“Most factories do not have any drawing design, soil test reports, electrical line outlines. We, therefore, are facing challenges in inspecting factories,” he said yesterday at the inauguration of an exposition on factory safety, organised by Alliance and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, with support from Accord on Fire and Building Safety, a forum of 150 retailers, mostly European.

Bangladesh has immense potential for RMG exports, but the sector has to go through a transformation to grab the opportunity, said Brad Loewen, chief safety inspector of the Accord.
 He stressed the need for proper education on building and fire safety, for both workers and owners.
Many factory owners are buying uncertified safety equipment due to a lack of knowledge, said Ian Spaulding, senior partner of ELEVATE and chairman of the expo organising committee.
He urged garment owners to procure certified equipment in a bid to ensure building safety.
Roy Ramesh, secretary general of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council, urged the government and garment makers to play a proactive role in workplace safety.
 “After the Rana Plaza collapse, we are in a dangerous position. If we remain blind, disasters will not stop.”
He also called upon international retailers to mobilise adequate funds for reparation of each clothing factory in the country.
“Brands have to take responsibility for rectification or relocation or renovation of factories by mobilising adequate resources.”
The Bangladesh chapter of IndustryAll Global Union also criticised international retailers for withdrawing orders from factories in Bangladesh.
Some international retailers are withdrawing orders from factories that operate in shared buildings. “Please don't do that. We do not want a single factory to be closed or a single worker lose his/her job.”
After inspection, if technical experts say the building has an imminent danger, it will certainly be closed; but buyers have to take the responsibility to pay the workers' wages during this period as per their legally binding commitment, said Ramesh.
He also urged international retailers to increase the unit prices of apparel.
International retailers increased unit prices when the monthly wages of garments workers was hiked. “But now, some brands are cutting prices. This is unfair, unacceptable and unethical,” said Ramesh.  
“Remediation cannot be done overnight. We need reasonable time for an upgrade,” said Atiqul Islam, president of BGMEA.
He said funds are crucial in implementing remedies and so buyers should extend financial support, he said.
Though global retailers had promised to not withdraw orders from existing factories during the upgrade, we are seeing some retailers withdraw orders from factories situated in multipurpose and shared buildings, added Islam. “This has created panic among the factories.”
BGMEA also urged the Accord and Alliance to form a garment workers victim foundation to support the micro-level workers.
He said the association has taken initiatives to establish a hospital that will provide services to workers at subsided rates.
Tofail Ahmed, commerce minister, urged global retailers to give more time to improve workplace safety in garment factories to ensure a sustainable transformation.
“We are fully committed to improving workplace safety. But we need time to do so.”
The global retailers have put forward many conditions and standards to improve fire safety and upgrade factory buildings, he said.  “It is not a matter by today or tomorrow. Definitely, we need time.”
The commerce minister also urged the Accord to hire Bangladeshi engineers, like the Alliance, to inspect factories.
A lack of unified codes is the main challenge to ensure workplace safety, said Shahriar Alam, state minister for foreign affairs.
He urged garment owners to audit each factory once a year. “If you do it regularly, many problems will be resolved.”
 The country has taken a number of national and international plans to improve workplace safety, said Mujibul Haque Chunnu, state minister for labour and employment.
Amending the labour law, building the capacity of the factory inspectors and simplifying registration of trade unions are some examples of government initiatives, he added.
The government is also setting up a garments village in Munshiganj, he said. “We are expecting the appointment of 200 factory inspectors very soon.”
Bangladesh is now the second largest garment exporter after China. The country has around 4,000 active garment factories, employing nearly 3.6 million people directly, 80 percent of whom are women, according to BGMEA.
Garment exports accounted for 80 percent or $21.5 billion of the country's total overseas sales of $27 billion in fiscal 2012-13, according to Export Promotion Bureau.