Home ›› 02 Aug 2021 ›› Front
Export-oriented factories resumed operation on Sunday with the government’s permission amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Leaders of two apex bodies of the RMG sector, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), claimed that they are maintaining health rules at the factories.
They also reiterated that workers who failed to join work on the reopening day would not lose their jobs.
“Around 90 to 95 per cent of workers joined today (Sunday) maintaining health guidelines. There is no fear of losing jobs if anyone failed to join on time,” BGMEA Vice-President Shahidullah Azim told The Business Post.
Saturday saw a massive rush of readymade garment (RMG) workers heading back to their workplaces after export-oriented factories secured the government’s permission to operate to meet the work orders. They argued that keeping the factories closed would hit the supply chain and create a shortage of different products linked to exports.
The government accepted the apparel sector’s demand on July 30.
Meanwhile, RMG workers continue to return to their workplaces for the second day on Sunday. The government allowed public transportation to carry them to their workstations from Saturday night, after a daylong mad rush that saw thousands of people heading back to the city, ignoring health safety rules amid the pandemic.
The government extended the time of launch operation to Monday morning. “We took this decision as a large number of passengers are crowding the terminals,” said Mizanur Rahman, deputy director of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority.
BGMEA and BKMEA leaders claimed that their members are strictly following health guidelines.
“We are monitoring with several teams and have not received a complaint about health rules violation. We believe our workers will be safe in their workplaces,” said BKMEA Vice President Fazlee Shamim Ehsan.
But workers’ leaders claimed that some factories violated health protocols and apprehended that workers would be vulnerable to Covid-19 infection.
“Factory owners completed their responsibility only by arranging a handwashing system. Workers entering the factories with the crowd may cause the spread of Covid-19,” Garment Workers Unity Forum President Moshrefa Mishu told The Business Post.
“We found this scenario at several factories,” she added.
However, the Industrial Police claimed that they had not received any complaint on health guidelines violation. An official of the Industrial Police said they were monitoring the situation.
