BGMEA crash programme
We want it fail-safe
The Daily Star, Banglades
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has started a serious programme, by the look of it, to prevent accidents taking place in garment factories. They realise that not only the mishaps have taken a heavy toll of human lives and badly tarnished the image of the garment industry but have also brought the country to disrepute in the outside world. The sign of determination on their part to change things around will be as good as its translation into reality.
Some BGMEA inspection teams have found a number of garment factories in and around the city to be highly vulnerable to mishaps. The organisation has also instructed owners to have at least two exits to a factory in forty-five days to avert stampede deaths. Furthermore, they have also directed the management not to keep the factory gates closed when the workers are inside and working. We have witnessed how death tolls in accidents rose sharply as the workers remained trapped inside factories with closed gates.
At long last, the apex body is showing signs of waking up to the need for ensuring the safety of workers. But we believe things have to improve in many areas. Though fire has been identified as the main danger, following the KTS textiles tragedy in Chittagong, building collapse is a source of great concern, too. The workers’ safety is greatly compromised by poorly installed electric lines. Finally, the workers are not trained in evacuation drill to be responding with a quick reflex to an emergency situation.
The BGMEA must act and demonstrate that it is going to take some comprehensive measures for creating safe working conditions in the factories. The point is relevant because criminal neglect of workers’ safety led to hundreds of casualties in the sector in recent times. So people might just not be convinced that a real change is going to take place unless the BGMEA has made sure that its moves and drives wouldn’t turn out to be seasonal, likely to vanish when the dusts will have settled before another series of accidents overtook us.
