Around 2.1m knitwear workers are yet to be brought under biometric database. Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) has failed to record the large number of workers’ details due to its lackluster approach to get the job done. The association, however, has brought about 1,550 RMG units under the database system as of April 21. Earlier, the government asked the sector people to complete their workers’ bio-metric documentation within June 15. BKMEA is the platform of knitwear manufacturers, while BGMEA represents the owners of woven manufacturers of Bangladesh. The issue of central database came under the spotlight following the Rana Plaza collapse as there was no accurate number of workers that worked for the factories. In the aftermath of the industrial disaster, buyers, brands, trade unions from home and abroad, plus rights group put pressure on the manufacturers and the government to create a central database containing workers’ details. An initiative in this regard was taken in 2013. According to BKMEA, it has 2,192 members, who employ about 2.1m workers. “We started process of preparing biometric database, but the response was very slow from the owners and only 11 factories have completed the process so far,” Sulav Chowdhury, chief executive officer (CEO) of BKMEA, told the Dhaka Tribune. “But we have renewed the contract and started the process and I hope that it would be complete by June as the system has already been developed.” BKMEA, Systech Digital Limited and Tiger IT Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the bio-metric database for the workers on January 18, 2014. “We have started the process but it did not get momentum as there was lack of eagerness from the owners,” BKMEA second Vice-President Mansoor Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune. “But we are holding meeting with the owners and urging them to expedite the process.” “This poor performance is only due to the negligence and dilly-dallying of the board,” a former BKMEA leader said, preferring not to be named. If the authority took stern action, it could be completed earlier, he added. “At the end of the 2013, the process of preparing a central worker database started, but due to the negligence of the owners it did not succeed,” former BKMEA Vice-President Mohammad Hatem told the Dhaka Tribune. It will not be possible to complete the process if it is not made mandatory, he suggested. According to the rules of Bangladesh Labour Act 2013, the owners of export-oriented garment industries will contribute 0.03% of their export value to the workers’ welfare fund. Of the fund, 50% will be kept for the welfare purposes while 50% for tackling unrest, if any. The contribution to the fund starts from July 1, 2016. To utilise the fund, the BKMEA would need to know the exact number of workers employed in the factories and their identifications, the rules state. “If the factory owners under the BKMEA fail to prepare biometric database within the stipulated deadline, they will not enjoy the benefits from the workers’ welfare fund,” Senior Labour and Employment Secretary Mikail Shipar told the Dhaka Tribune. In the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $22.63 billion exporting RMG products, of which $10.73 billion came from knitwear products and $11.90 billion from woven products. Of the $25.49 billion export earnings from the country’s RMG sector, Knitwear products contributed $12.42 billion in the last fiscal year while woven products contributed $13.09 billion in the same period.
