The government has initiated a move to inspect the readymade garment factories which fall outside the purview of the ongoing national and international safety inspections and plastic and chemical factories in the country.The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments under the labour ministry has sent a project proposal with an estimated cost Tk 62.31 crore to the planning ministry for conducting preliminary safety assessment in some 1,100 factories including RMG, plastic and chemical factories.‘We have sent a project proposal to the planning ministry for bringing 654 RMG factories which remain outside the inspections conducted by Accord, Alliance and a national initiative and 445 plastic and chemical factories under safety inspection with the aim of curbing industrial accidents,’ Md Shamsuzzaman Bhuiyan, inspector general of DIFE, told New Age on Monday.He said that the department prepared a list of 654 RMG factories which were not either the members of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association or Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the units remained outside the purview of the national and international inspection initiatives.DIFE officials said that about 3 lakh people worked in the factories amid safety risks.Of the total workers, more than 2.77 lakh people work in the RMG factories located in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur and Chattogram.According to labour ministry officials, the planning ministry gave some observations on the proposal and requested DIFE to review some particular issues of the project proposal.Sources said that the planning ministry requested to exclude the proposed cost for training and procurement of some instruments from the proposal as the safety inspection would be conducted by the government-hired consulting firms.After making the necessary corrections the proposal would be sent again to the planning ministry soon, sources said.‘The project cost finally may be Tk 47-48 crore and the fund will be allocated under the annual development programme,’ a labour ministry official said.After the Rana Plaza building collapse in April 24, 2013, that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garments workers, EU retailers formed Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh while North American brands formed Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety undertaking a five-year plan, which set timeframes and accountability for inspections and training and workers empowerment programmes.The two platforms conducted safety inspection in some 2,300 RMG factories.At the same time, the government with the support of International Labour Organisation conducted safety inspection in 1,490 factories.
