The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) will start examining across Bangladesh the buildings of the clothing factories that have not signed the ‘Accord on Fire and Building Safety’ on Friday.
The decision was taken at a national tri-partite committee meeting chaired by the labour secretary Mikhail Shipar.
File Photo
They will assess both “structural integrity and fire and electrical safety”, according to the International Labour Organisaion that supports the government, owners, and workers’ joint effort in improving working conditions in the factories.
The BUET team will follow ‘a minimum standard’ for building safety endorsed by the garment owners and workers who comprise the national committee.
The move comes after the worst-ever building collapse in April in Savar that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly workers.
It triggered global outrage and the major buyers –US and EU – of the Bangladesh’s main export item set a roadmap to improve workers safety and security conditions.
Only 1,600 factories signed the five-year legally binding Accord following threats of losing markets.
The national committee has been formed to implement the plan of actions of the Accord to prevent any further workplace disasters.
Bangladesh is the world’s second biggest supplier of garments. The sector earns around 80 percent of the country’s total export earnings and employs more than 3.5 million people, mostly women.
But safety issue remains a challenge with frequent fire incidents. A BUET team earlier surveyed 100 factory building and found 60 percent of them ‘vulnerable’.
There are more than 3,000 active factories housed in around 600 buildings. Licenses have been given to over 5,000 factories.
Many, particularly those located in the centre of Dhaka, have been converted into factories from residences or offices.
Source: Bd news24