BGMEA’s move to prepare a database on foreign nationals working in local garment sector has drawn lukewarm response from its member factories, sources said. Only 47 factories, out of the country’s around 3,500 apparel units, have provided information about their 150 foreign workers until Wednesday (October 28), although the apex body set October 15 as the deadline for the same, they added. Taking the members’ poor response into account, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is going to remind them for providing the information. When asked, BGMEA vice president Mahmud Hasan Khan said, “There is no specific reason for not providing the information of foreign professionals working in garment factories, rather its negligence.” He, however, said the number of foreigners working in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector has declined in recent times, as local youths are joining the sector with necessary technical and vocational education. The BGMEA’s move to collect foreign nationals’ information has come against the backdrop of the recent murder of two foreign citizens in the country. The first incident of killing an Italian citizen took place in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone at Gulshan on September 28, while a Japanese national was killed by miscreants in Rangpur on October 03. Different foreign missions and countries have re-issued security alert for their citizens, advising them to take extra caution in their movement in Bangladesh. The BGMEA’s step also follows a request from the country’s law-enforcement agencies, as they are preparing a list of foreign personnel working and staying in the country to ensure their security. The government has also tightened security, especially in the city’s Gulshan and Baridhara areas, where the majority of diplomats and foreigners live. Currently, around 0.4 million foreign nationals, mostly from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, South Korea and some European and African countries are working in Bangladesh. Most of them are engaged in RMG, IT and other manufacturing industries. Three government agencies – Boards of Investment (BoI), NGO Affairs Bureau and Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) – issue work permits for the foreigners. However, there is no integrated list of foreigners working in Bangladesh due to lack of coordination among the government agencies concerned. According to BoI officials, around 22,000 foreigners are working in the country with valid work permits. Former BGMEA vice president Md Shahidullah Azim noted that some 15,000 to 20,000 foreigners are working in the country’s textile and clothing sector, and majority of them are working in different buying houses and liaison office. They are holding posts like merchandiser, quality controller, designer, marketing officer and technician at washing and dying units, according to industry insiders. “Some 4,000 to 5,000 people might be working in garment factories,” he opined. Some 4,200 factories are listed with BGMEA, while about 3,500 are in operation, and 2,200 to 2,400 factories get utilisation declaration (UD) from it, according to the association.
