Foreign apparel buyers and retailers have expressed concern over the workplace safety of sub-contracting factories in Bangladesh which remained outside the purview of independent inspection agencies working in the country.
Their concerns surfaced at the completion of term of Accord and Alliance, the platforms of buyers and retailers who spent the last five years compelling the factories registered with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
But, outside the nearly 4,300 BGMEA-enlisted factories, there are numerous sub-contracting units which have mushroomed over the years in Dhaka, Gazipur, Ashulia, Savar, Chittagong and Narayanganj. These factories have been producing products for brands and big retailers.
There is no concrete statistics about their actual number. But, sources inside the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) say there are at least 2,000 sub-contracting factories in Bangladesh.
The retailers and brands face international pressure and lasting damage on the brand image if any accident happens in those sub-contracting factories like it happened back in 2013 during the Rana Plaza collapse.
Meeting participants said, it was a regular Buyers’ Forum meeting that was held on May 24, 2018. Country heads and representatives of the top brands and buying groups were present in the meeting. They expressed concerns over the security of these sub-contracting factories and what would BGMEA do now to remediate them, now that Accord and Alliance are leaving.
Md Rezwan Selim, a director of BGMEA and Managing Director of Softex Sweater Inds (Pvt) Ltd, who was present in the meeting as a BGMEA high-up, told Apparel Resources: “When Accord and Alliance were formed, they (buyers) did not seek our consent. They just imposed it upon us. Now, we have nothing to do.”
It is to be noted that the Government of Bangladesh, BGMEA, and other stakeholders are creating a Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC) which will continue factory inspection work and maintain sustainability standards after the departure of Accord and Alliance.
Also, BGMEA currently boasts of having top-notch factories in regard to factory standardisation after carrying out costly remediation works for the last five years.
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