Safety at stake as many RMG units run sans affiliation with trade bodies

Several hundred apparel factories that export directly or partly are not associated with any of the two apparel apex bodies -- BGMEA and BKMEA -- thus posing safety risks to their workers.

The workers' safety issues of those factories remain either less or properly monitored, industry insiders have said.

According to them, the majority of such garment factories are engaged in subcontracting and exporting goods to non-traditional markets beyond the European Union, US and Canada.

As a result, activities of the "non-member" factories remain less monitored as buyers of non-traditional markets do not usually ask for required compliance standards, they added.

Majority of the factories also remain outside the purview of the required inspection programmes, which came into the spotlight following the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse.

After the Rana Plaza tragedy, some 3,500 export-oriented readymade garment (RMG) factories, having membership of either Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) or Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), were inspected by the western retailers, erstwhile Accord and Alliance, and under an ILO-government joint initiative.

But the factories that were not registered with the BGMEA and the BKMEA remained outside the purview of fire, electrical and structural integrity inspections.

munni_fe@yahoo.com