Apparel producers came down heavily on Accord and Alliance for imposing what they called ‘increasing’ and ‘harsh’ conditions in the name of workplace safety in factories. Terming their demands ‘illogical’, they said factory owners are finding it difficult to meet their ever-increasing demands for work place safety and security. Accord and Alliance are two platforms by buyers from the European Union (EU) and North American countries working in Bangladesh to establish labour rights and promote work place safety in the ready-made garment sector. “Conditions of safety by Accord and Alliance continue to grow, throwing us into a difficult situation,” president of Exporter Association of Bangladesh (EAB) Abdus Salam Murshedy said while speaking at an exchange of meeting in the city held Sunday. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) jointly organised the gathering. “There is no coordination between Accord and Alliance themselves, resulting in harassment on the part of local factories,” Mr Murshedy, also former BGMEA president alleged and called upon the existing office bears of the apex garments trade body to face such organisations ‘tactfully’. Echoing the same, BGMEA president Md. Atiqul Islam said meeting the demands of Accord and Alliance has become a big challenge for local factories and those don’t ensure a level playing field for industry. “Accord and Alliance are imposing such conditions only for the Bangladeshi companies. Nowhere else in the world, this kind of platform exists,” Mr Islam said, urging the foreign buyers to form such bodies in other countries too, to ensure a level-playing field globally. He said almost all garment factories are compliant with the safety standards set by Accord and Alliance. “We’ve an integrated website of 2,100 factories, where ins and outs of the member factories are available transparently,” the industry leader noted. Describing the paucity of energy supply as another challenge, the BGMEA chief said some of the association members couldn’t even shift their factories outside the capital as gas connection isn’t available. The leader also demanded special allocation and facilities for apparel and textiles industries in the upcoming national budget so that they could recover the loss stemming from restive politics. The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, mayoral candidate of Dhaka North City Corporation Annisul Huq, among others, addressed the function. While the programme was an exchange of views meeting, it virtually turned into an election campaign, where representatives of the trade bodies extended their support to the mayoral aspirant Huq, who was former heads of both the FBCCI and BGMEA.
Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/04/13/88673
