International Labour Organisation alleged that a total of 88 BGMEA member factories are unwilling to have their manufacturing plants inspected by the ILO in connection with safety issues.
Meanwhile, ILO wants to conduct inspection on 70-80 RMG factories more to meet its initial commitment.
On October 11, in a letter to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the UN agency stated that 88 BGMEA member apparel factories are not interested to participate in the NI (National Initiative) Safety Inspection.
However, the factory owners say they want to have their factories inspected by the ILO, but it will take time.
They add that some factories are in the process of being relocated in compliant buildings, and some RMG owners are raising new buildings for their factory relocation.
The deadline of RMG safety inspection by the ILO supporting the National Initiative by is October 31, 2015.
In its letter, ILO said: “Please be informed that we still need another 70-80 factories to fulfill the initially committed number. We already exhausted the factory list. We have to make a new schedule for safety inspection.”
The International Labour Organisation also asked BGMEA to inform it within October 25 of scheduled inspections of RMG units.
“BGMEA will directly ask every factory owner to take the opportunity of free inspection and it is a must for them to ensure safety,” BGMEA senior Vice- President Faruque Hassan told the Dhaka Tribune.
He warned that the owners association will stop all kinds of services and sub-contracts to the non-inspected factories.
If necessary, BGMEA will seek time from ILO to implement Corrective Action Plan (CAP), Hassan said, urging all factory owners to take part in inspection by the UN organisation.
“RMG sector or other compliant factories cannot suffer for non-compliant issues. We are zero tolerant on safety issues,” he vowed.
“As regards ILO inspection, I did not say that we are not interested to participate in inspection,” Parvez Alam Khan, owners of Ishita Garments, told the Dhaka Tribune.
“We are establishing standard factories for relocation and want to have inspection after that,” said Parvez.
If factory owners welcome ILO to inspect their factories at a shared building and later relocate them, they have to get the work done again, he said.
“That is why I would like to take the opportunity after the relocation.”
The ILO through its “Improving Working Conditions in the RMG Sector” funded by the Royal Netherlands Government, Canada and UK is providing financial and technical assistance for the government of Bangladesh for implementation of the National Tripartite Plan (NAP) of Action Plan on Fire and Structural Integrity in the country’s RMG sector.
The NAP was signed in 25 July 2013.
The safety issues came under spotlight after the Rana Plaza factory collapse that killed over 1,135 workers and injured over 2,500 people on April 24, 2013.