Apparel makers turn to labour ministry for running factories with full workforce

The apex apparel sector trade-body - BGMEA - has formally informed the government about its stance regarding operating factories with full workforce on the grounds of ensuring timely shipment of orders and avoiding possible financial loss.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), in a letter to the labour ministry secretary on Thursday, made the plea to operate units with full workforce despite deteriorating Covid-19 pandemic situation in the country.

It said the country's garment factories just started recovering from the impact of coronavirus outbreak first wave, buyers were placing orders, and shipments were also going on.

The government, on March 29, again provided a set of 18 guidelines following the rise in Covid-related fatalities and caseloads. The guidelines included running all the government and non-government offices and institutions, except those providing emergency services, with 50 per cent manpower.

"If factories are being operated with 50 per cent workforce, they cannot make timely shipments and would face huge financial loss again," read the BGMEA letter, signed by its President Dr Rubana Huq.

The Covid-19 infection rate in the apparel industry was below 0.03 per cent, as the factories strictly followed the health and safety guidelines. The safety protocols were not relaxed by the factories despite the reduction in infection rate after the first wave.

Citing a circular, the BGMEA letter said the trade-body advised all its members, among others, to strictly maintain staggered entry and exit for the workers to avoid crowd at factory gates, and also strengthened its monitoring.

"The factories are maintaining health and safety guidelines, and so we have the highest preparation to run these following the guidelines."

Explaining the current situation, Ms Huq said global work orders decreased by 30-40 per cent due to the emergence of Covid second wave.

The buyers were now asking for instant shipment, or putting pressure on product price cut, or threatening order cancellation.

"Considering such a situation and taking economy of the country into consideration, we have to run factories by properly maintaining the health and safety guidelines," she added.

The labour secretary, however, could not be reached for his immediate comment regarding the issue.

When asked, Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, director of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said they could not reduce their workforce to 50 per cent ahead of the Eid festival.

If the workforce was reduced, they would fail to make timely shipments, which might create anarchy, he added.

Echoing him, Mansoor Ahmed, secretary of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), said health and safety guidelines were strictly maintained in the textile mills also.

"The textile mills are health safety-oriented, as machinery in the units have been set up by maintaining a wide gap among workers," he added.

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