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Plan to make requisite amendments to factory laws |
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December 1, 2000
Dhaka-- (UNB)- A five-member parliamentary subcommittee has been formed to recommend requisite amendments updating factory laws with stronger provision to check frequent fires in workplaces. The committee, headed by Shahjahan Khan MP, will report to the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Labour and Employment by December 20. Meanwhile, the parliamentary watchdog, that formed the subcommittee in its Wednesday’s meeting, observed that a large number of apparel factories had not yet got fire-safety measures and emergency exits, resulting in frequent fire incidents. Labour Ministry earlier gave the responsibility to BGMEA to ensure fire-safety measures in its nearly 3000 member factories. BGMEA president Anisur Rahman Sinha, who was also called at the meeting, said his association is gradually ensuring fire safety in all its factories as per agreement reached with the government earlier. He clarified that the knitwear factory that caught fire in Narsingdi leaving some 50 workers dead was not a member of BGMEA. The towel factory belonged to another association, he informed the lawmakers. The parliamentary sub-committee on December 7 will meet with all associations in textile and apparel sector. The standing committee pointed to the flaws and handicaps of the existing factory laws and inadequate logistics of the factory- inspection department. Only 13 inspectors are not enough to look after nearly 10000 industrial units, including 2500 garment and knitwear factories, in Dhaka region only, the meeting felt. Besides, it noted, penalty provision is meagre and factory owners do not even care for the small amount of fines for any casualty, which is maximum Tk 20,000. “We’ll identify the irregularities and make recommendations to make the existing laws effective,” said Shahjahan Khan MP, also a labour leader. Provision for imprisonment and increase in maximum penalty may be recommended to incorporate in the existing laws, he hinted. Besides, the subcommittee will also prescribe stern measures against those garment factories that have not yet implemented recommendations for minimum wages. The Directorate of Inspection of Factories recently had requested BGMEA to take steps so that its member factories implemented labour laws to protect labour interests. At least 24 provisions of the existing factory laws are grossly violated in the garment factories and the factory owners neglect repeated calls from the authorities to implement those, the Directorate told in a letter to the BGMEA president. |