The authorities of Liberty Fashion Wears Limited on Monday reiterated its call for allowing resumption of the factory’s operations for the sake of its 5,000 employees and their family members. The export-oriented readymade garment (RMG) company also sought the required support and cooperation from the stakeholders including government agencies, buyers and watchdogs in this regard. The company’s Chairman and Managing Director (MD) Mozammel Huq made the call at a press conference at the National Press Club. He said the operations of the RMG unit at Savar have remained suspended since June 2013, following an ‘arbitrary’ report on workplace safety by buyer company Tesco-deployed firm Medway Consultancy Services (MCS). The Tesco in a letter on June 11, 2013 suspended the operation of the factory in Savar following the inspection of the MCS, which was carried out under the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. The Accord was formed on May 13, 2013 to ensure workers’ safety in RMG factories following the Rana Plaza collapse in April 2013. “The MCS representatives prepared the report arbitrarily visiting the factory without abiding by the required rules for building inspection,” he said. The Liberty MD also said: “Even they visited the factory without informing us.” Claiming the establishment safe for operations, he said separate inspections by Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) , Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) found no major problems in the building. ILO team examined the building on March 25, 2015 and submitted the report on August 26 in the same year, he said adding that the team found no fault in it. Quoting from the report, he said, “Considering overall situation, the factory is rated GREEN. There is no need to suspend operations in any of the buildings covered in this report.” Due to the suspension of the factory, about 5,000 workers lost their jobs while the Liberty authority is losing Tk 3.5 billion export earnings, he said. The Liberty Fashion authority said it took many initiatives to draw stakeholders’ attention in this connection including letters to the stakeholders and observing sit-in action programme before their offices. However, all efforts proved futile, he informed. The authority also filed cases with the High Court and the lower court in this regard, he informed. Earlier, the Liberty Fashion organised two press conferences in October 2013 and January this year.
