Despite the continuing nationwide lockdown in Bangladesh, which is being extended further now, export-oriented industries including garment factories are allowed to operate. Let’s find out the rationale behind the same and what the industry has to say on this.
As COVID-19 fatalities remain still high, Bangladesh has decided to extend the ongoing lockdown by another week. The decision in this regard was made in line with suggestions by public health experts and considering the global COVID-19 situation, underlined State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain said on 26 April. It may be mentioned here that a sudden spurt in Coronavirus infections and deaths prompted the Government to initially issue an 18-point directive on 29 March, and then go for a weeklong lockdown from 5 April. But as it failed to achieve the expected results, the Government decided to enforce a ‘strict lockdown’ from 14-21 April, which was later extended until 28 April. During the lockdown, amid the growing demand, the Cabinet Division issued a notice on last Friday, allowing shops and shopping malls to open for business from 25 April (Sunday) on the condition that they would maintain proper safety protocols even if in another significant development, Bangladesh has also sealed its border with India for the next two weeks to limit Covid-19 transmission from the neighbouring country even if it allowed continuation of trade through the borders. According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the highly infectious Indian variants of Sars-CoV-2, the Coronavirus that causes COVID-19, must be prevented from entering Bangladesh to tackle an inevitable disaster. However, notwithstanding the lockdown, the readymade garment sector of the country, which is considered the lifeline of Bangladesh’s economy, has been allowed to operate but after maintaining the necessary health and safety guidelines. This has however raised questions as to the rationale behind the move as some believe keeping workplaces operating, runs risk of exposing the garment workers to contracting the dreaded virus. Now, if one has to take into consideration what the garment makers have to say, there was no alternative to keeping the sector operational amid the countrywide lockdown so as to keep the economy alive. The decision to keep factories operation was inevitable as the sector suffered the most during the countrywide lockdown during the first wave of the pandemic last year, shooting export earnings down to its lowest in its three-decade history even as according to the country’s Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, RMG exports plunged by more than 20-25 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019, and the trend is very much downwards for 2021 as well. And there also must be existing work orders to cater to as well! Besides, one needs to consider apparel industries of competitor countries like Vietnam and India are also functioning. “I spoke to officials from India and other countries. Their industries are operational. If we close the factories, we risk losing work orders, which is crucial to getting our economy back on track,” reportedly stated the newly-elected President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Faruque Hassan, who went on to add that last year was a nightmare for the RMG industry. Meanwhile, speaking to the media, the Deputy Managing Director of Desh Garments Limited.,Vidiya Amrit Khan, stated that there was more than just one factor behind keeping factories open. “If one of our shipments is cancelled or delayed, it will be very difficult for us to get a new order. Buyers are also looking for a chance to cancel orders. If we close the sector now, they will get the scope to cancel their orders,” reportedly stated Vidiya underlining that order cancellation not only affects the revenue stream, but also puts a negative impact on loan repayments, and went on to add, “It will not also be good for the banks either. If there is no income, how can we repay loans? Again, we have to think about our workers. A number of women and men make their living by working in the sector. So, if the factories close year after year, what would happen to the workers? We have to think about everything. Therefore, it is crucial to keep the factories open.” Meanwhile, as per some, the risk of contracting the virus for the garment workers remains less in workplaces as proper health protocols are maintained even as Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, endorsed the decision of running factories during the lockdown as a massive number of workers would have rushed to their village homes if they had been closed, which would have spread the virus further, he feared. A recent survey has but underlined that thanks to the poor living conditions, workers are more vulnerable to contracting the disease at their residences. Titled, Post Covid-19 Sustainability Challenges for Readymade Garments (RMG) Industry: A Study on Bangladesh, the research paper underlined that workers had to put their lives at stake to return to their residences where they have to live in congested spaces and where ensuring social distancing is difficult. “When they go home and use common bathrooms, sit and eat in common places and use common transport, the risk of infection of Coronavirus remains,” said Shuvra Dey Babu, who leads one of the merchandising teams at Beximco Industrial Park, adding, “From that point of view, it is very difficult for them to follow the rules of hygiene and physical distancing.” The paper, also co-authored by Swadip Bhattacharjee, an Assistant Professor of the University of Chittagong, and freelancer writer Arjita Saha, was presented at a session of an international conference titled Business for Sustainability, recently. As per reports, the research began in late October 2020 and ended in the middle of November and researchers carried out the survey through phone calls, emails and WhatsApp messages among 48 participants with the objective to find out the post-pandemic challenges in the garment industry. Meanwhile, Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, former BGMEA President and President of Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI), said that despite the risk posed to workers, the total infection rate among RMG workers has been 0.4 per cent of the total infection rate. “For workers’ well-being, as well as for the sake of the economy, apparel factories must remain open,” said the former BGMEA President adding, “Many countries in the world haven’t gone into lockdown. If we keep our factories closed in this situation, the orders will go to our competitors. Moreover, there is no way for the workers to earn their livelihoods if the factories are closed. Halting production is not the answer,” he added. The Government can be strict to ensure hygiene norms everywhere, said apparel industry insiders, adding monitoring should be strengthened on whether health directives are followed in the factories or not. Earlier, Youngone Chairman and CEO Kihak Sung had also urged the Bangladesh Government to keep factories open to ‘avoid grave consequences’. If the factories are kept open, workers will remain in a disciplined environment and can be better supported against infections, he said while adding that the country’s readymade garment (RMG) sector — the major foreign currency earner — has not yet recovered from the damaging effects of the first wave of COVID-19 and it now has to cope with the second wave. Sung said the apparel factories had to operate with lots of difficulties and suffer huge financial losses last year while adding that the unplanned closure of the factories extending up to nine weeks made things worse and it hurt the country’s image and undermined the confidence of some of the major buyers. While the factories were in operation, they strictly followed proper health care measures and were successful in ensuring that their workers were well protected, the Youngone Chairman said. Further, it may be mentioned here that to monitor compliance of health and safety regulations in factories that are operating amidst the lockdown, the Ministry of Labour on 13 April set up 23 crisis management committees, which will be helped by the local administration and the Industrial Police to perform their duties. Underlining that with the help of the International Labour Organization (ILO), a complete guideline on compliance with health codes in the factories to prevent COVID-19 has been developed, Labour Secretary KM Abdus Salam stated, “It is an international standard guideline and the factories have to follow this strictly. Moreover, the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) have also prepared separate protocols, as has the Department of Health,” while going on to add that all the protocols and guidelines have to be applied together to ensure the health and safety of the workers. Considering the various facets put forth by the stakeholders, the call to keep the export-oriented industries operational, one may agree, seems very much practical if looked at from the economic aspect, not only from the perspective of the garment industry but the country as a whole. Hopefully, the factories are able to also fully implement and maintain the health protocols, which would serve the purpose of ensuring workers’ safety as well now.
