Around 20-25 factories were closed and around 50,000 workers lost their jobs in the past year due to the cancellation of orders by buyers, reveals a study of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).
Findings of the study titled “Good Governance in Readymade Garments Sector: Promises and Development” were revealed at the Hotel Abakash in the capital’s Mohakhali, yesterday. It is a follow-up study of the previous TIB report styled “Readymade Garments Sector: Problems of Good Governance and Way of Solution.”
Another 500,000 workers could become jobless and more factories could face closure in the future for the same reasons, the study states.
Two forums, Accord, comprising European retailers, and Alliance, comprising North American retailers, have sometimes presented wrong information about factory inspection and as a result, the factories were shut down, said the study.
The forums suggested the shutting down of another 13 factories employing 11,500 workers that are housed in shared buildings and the cancellation of orders valued at $110m of some 57 factories. However, BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) officials stated that the buildings are safe for work and not vulnerable.
TIB Deputy Programme Manager Sharif Ahmed Chowdhury said: “We noticed a lack of transparency in the published inspection reports and a lack of compulsion to show the reports to the authorities concerned on the part of the forums. Thus far the Accord has published 10 probe reports, though it is required to publish reports within a maximum of six weeks. Besides, there is no binding on the Alliance for publishing inspection reports.”
“The Accord has only completed the inspection of 80 factories out of 1,626 when they had said they would inspect all by April 2014. On the other hand, the Alliance inspected 247 factories among 626 and BUET engineers inspected 247 among 2,000. Inspection is running at a snail’s pace which is killing time. Besides, there could be uncertainty over ensuring safety in the factories because of the sluggish progress in completing inspection,” he added.
Moreover, during the period that a factory is temporarily shut down for a retrofit, the lack of coordination between buyers and the owner over workers’ pay was observed, though there is a condition which says buyers will continue placing orders for at least two years if a factory is temporarily shut down for structural flaws.
It has been found that some buyers have reduced the volume of orders and sometimes have even stopped placing orders, the TIB study pointed out.
“If the buyers don’t act sensibly then social unrest will grow. In addition, our economy will be hampered and workers will become jobless,” Sharif observed.
“A hotline for receiving complaints made by workers was supposed to be set up as part of the National Tripartite Plan of Action, which hasn’t been set up yet,” he added.
The speaker suggested including Rajuk and the fire service officials in the Accord and Alliance team so that their skills can be developed.
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said: “When it came to compensating the Rana Plaza collapse victims, a lack of responsibility among buyers was noticed. We suggest forming a “Sramik Kallyan Tahabil” for workers where buyers and owners will contribute.”
He also demanded a separate ministry for the readymade garment sector to ensure labour rights and improved working conditions.
“There is a lack of coordination among the government agencies involved in the sector,” said TIB Chairperson Sultana Kamal.
TIB also made around nine suggestions, including mandatory formation of trade unions in every factory and the formation of a separate authority titled “Readymade Garment Good Governance Authority”, for resolving the existing problems.
