BGMEA’s health and safety audit finds 144 factories 'satisfactory'

Conducting health and safety audit in the last four days, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has so far found 144 factories in satisfactory level amid the concern of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

A spokesperson on Friday that BGMEA’s audit teams, headed by six directors of the apex trade body of the apparel sector, inspected a total of 147 factories so far.

“The other three need improvements in terms of density”, he said.

According to BSS, the three factories have been suggested immediate corrective action plans to resume operations.

He revealed that a total of 1,061 factories out of BGMEA’s 2,274 members resumed operation in limited scale from April 26.

Earlier, BGMEA formed the six committees to inspect health safety of member factories amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Six directors of the association are leading the monitoring of factories in six different zones of the country to curb the COVID-19 spread in apparel factories.

The BGMEA spokesperson said the audit teams have been paying sudden visit to factories in Dhaka Metropolitan, Savar, Ashulia, two zones in Gazipur, and Narayanganj and Narshingdi.

“The reports of the audit teams are being evaluated every day,” he added.

BGMEA said knitting and dyeing units of their member factories has reopened from April 26 while the garment section would be reopened after May 1.

It said the dyeing factories which are not members of BKMEA but subcontract with the knitwear manufacturers would also reopen in April 26.

Meanwhile, garment factory owners have initiated a process to set up four testing labs in Ashulia-Savar, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chattogram for detecting coronavirus among workers.

Tests will be done free of cost among apparel workers for detecting coronavirus. Besides, workers of other sectors would also get access to test COVID-19 free of cost there, said BGMEA officials.