Amidst reported resurgence of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh, which has led the Government to, reportedly, impose some fresh restrictions, garment makers in the country have expressed reluctance to run operations (of factories) with 50 per cent workforce.
According to media reports, a letter written in this direction by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) to the Labour Secretary KM Abdus Salam on 1 April (Thursday) maintained that if garment manufacturing units ran with 50 per cent of the existing workforce (as per the Government directive), apparel exporters would miss shipment deadlines and incur huge losses.
It may be mentioned here that following the new wave of COVID-19 in the country, the Government has issued a gazette notification with 18 directives imposing restrictions on all types of public gathering — to contain the resurgence of the epidemic, the Government also asked all Government and non-Government offices/institutions, except those providing emergency services, to run with 50 per cent of their manpower — on 29 March.
Underlining that garment factories would run their operations following health safety guidelines, the letter signed by the BGMEA President Dr. Rubana Huq, reportedly, maintained that due to the pandemic, work orders reduced by 30-40 per cent in the factories even as buyers have, reportedly, been exerting pressure to make prompt shipment of existing orders.
