Ignoring closure orders issued by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) after being declared unsafe, four readymade (RMG) manufacturing units in Bangladesh — Nazia Apparels Ltd (Chittagong), Lyric Apparels Ltd (Dhaka), Sundry Apparels Ltd (Chittagong) and Adorn Knitwear Ltd (Dhaka) — are reportedly still in operation.
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According to Labour ministry officials, in view of defiance of the notice issued by DIFE, which has asked the four errant RMG units to stop operations after being declared unsafe by a government-set review panel, the Government is reportedly mulling to initiate legal action against the garment manufacturing factories.
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It may be mentioned here that earlier, the review panel, comprising officials and experts from Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Accord and Alliance carried out an inspection of the factories and reportedly found serious safety issues in those and consequently asked the four factories to stop operation.
“We have asked the factory authorities to shut down the units as the condition of the factory buildings are vulnerable but the factory owners have been running their business ignoring the Government order,” Inspector General of the DIFE Syed Ahmed reportedly said, adding that ‘DIFE has requested law enforcement agencies of the respective factory area to take necessary action so that the factories comply with the Government order but the agencies were yet to take any action’.
As such, the DIFE has recently sent a letter to the Labour Ministry seeking necessary action against the four garment factories in Dhaka and Chittagong.
