‘Ensure planned expansion of RMG industry thru garment village’

 Leaders of the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF) on Monday demanded a fair investigation into the Savar tragedy and punishment of those involved in the incidents through proper identification.

They urged all, especially the owners of all types of industrial units, to remain careful at individual level to avert such serious accident in the future.

“We need to come out from the blame-game culture. We need to be more responsible and the owners must play a very active role to that end,” BEF President M Fazlul Hoque told reporters at a press conference at the MCCI conference room.

Steps will have to be taken immediately so that no one can go unpunished, he said.

The BEF arranged the press conference on the Savar building collapse. Secretary General of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) Farooq Ahmed and Pubali Jute Mills Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Kamran T Rahman were also present.

Hoque, also former President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), urged the government to set up a garment village for the readymade garment factories to avert accidents.

“The RMG industry is expanding in an unplanned way. We need a well-organised industrial area for any industry. If we look at the Export Processing Zones (EPZs), we see less casualties even when an accident takes place there,” the BEF President said.

He urged the owners to provide capable members of the affected families with jobs on a priority basis. “We’ll soon hold a meeting with the ILO so that steps can be taken to ensure jobs for those who will turn disabled following the accident,” Hoque said.

Some 381 bodies were recovered from the debris of the Rana Plaza as of Monday noon as the death toll from the tragedy continues to go up.

Of the bodies, 370 were handed over to their relatives. Besides, some 2,444 people were rescued alive from the rubble of the building.

Source: UNB Connect