Home ›› 31 Jul 2021 ›› Front
Export-oriented manufacturing factories received the government nod on Friday to resume operations from August 1 amid the ongoing lockdown.
The Cabinet Division issued a notification to this effect.
The government enforced a strict lockdown from July 23 to check Covid-19 infections, which rose sharply in recent weeks.
The decision came a day after the exporters met Cabinet Secretary Khondkar Anwarul Islam to ask for approval for resuming production in their factories from August 1.
The exporters requested the workers, who are out of workplaces, to reach workstations once restrictions are relaxed. If the workers act accordingly, they will not lose their jobs.
Earlier, five associations of RMG sector and Exporters Association of Bangladesh sent a letter to the Prime Minister, seeking permission to resume production activities.
But the notification of Cabinet Division, which was released on July 19, said only food production, rawhide collection and medicine production will remain out of the purview of strict lockdown. All other factories will remain closed during the lockdown period.
With this permission, the exporters heaved a sigh of great relief and overcame the fear of missing shipment worth a billion dollar in time.
They also thanked the government for paying heed to their demand and expressed their concern about the shipment of a large number of goods.
“Thanks to the prime minister and others involved in the process in allowing us to restart production from August 1. Now, we feel free. We will give instructions to all of our members so that they strictly maintain health guidelines during production,” Shahidullah Azim, vice president of BGMEA told The Business Post.
“During the pandemic, the infection rate was very low among our garment workers. We believe the positive trend will continue and our workers will also stay aware in preventing the spread of the disease,” he added.
“However, it’s good news for all of our exporters. Hopefully, the government will vaccinate all of our workers as soon as possible, aiming expediting production activities without hassle,” said Esrat Jahan, CEO of Tulika and director of The Bangladesh Jute Goods Exporters Association.
One the other hand, a large number of workers left Dhaka during Eid holidays. Due to strict lockdown and suspension of all kinds of public transport on August 5, some of them might have got stranded in their village homes. The workers might face hazards of hurrying back to their workplace in time.
However, two apex bodies of readymade garments sector — Bangladesh Garments Manufacturer and exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturer and Exporters Association (BKMEA) — assured the RMG workers that there was no such pressure on reaching their workplaces, risking their lives.
“Our main target is to meet the shipment deadline and retain the buyer’s confidence in us. I am assuring that the workers, who will fail to join the factory on August 1, will not lose their jobs,” BGMEA President Faruque Hassan told The Business Post.
Workers, who are out of station, will join the office once the ongoing lockdown is over or relaxed, said Hassan.
“Around 70 per cent of the workers are now in their stations and available to join the production works. So, we will start production activities with them. But we will request our members not to deprive the salaries of the workers, who are outside their workplaces at present considering reality,” said Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, vice president of the BKMEA.
On top of all, we will also request the employers not to implement the layoff law on the workers for the period between July 23 and July 31, and consider the nine days as festival leave, leaving options for adjusting the leave upon discussing with the workers, Ehsan said.
