LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday said repetition of incidents like Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen factory fire would destroy the country’s garment sector.
He asked garment owners to house their factories in one-storey buildings or underground “like in East London.”
“Garment industry always shifts from one country to another depending on the cost of labour. In future it may shift to other countries where labour cost is low,” the Awami League general secretary said at a press conference at the party president’s Dhanmondi office.
Asked if there is any foreign pressure on Bangladesh’s garment sector, Ashraf replied in the negative, but said: “If the same thing happens in future, foreign buyers may not come to our country and the industry will be destroyed. The government will not be able to protect the sector.”
He said he also believed that garment owners in Bangladesh live lavishly while depriving their workers.
An eight-storey building housing five garment units at Savar collapsed on April 24, killing more than 600 workers. In November 2012, a devastating fire at Tazreen garment factory killed 112 workers.