Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) factories will be open despite the government’s announcement of a week-long countrywide lockdown beginning April 5 for curbing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic’s second wave, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). The units will follow all government directives.
BGMEA president Rubana Huq said social distancing will be enforced in the factories to prevent workers from being infected.
Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) and former president of the BGMEA, said workers are safer inside the factories than they are outside.
“That is why we will keep the factories open as before. However, we will be more careful than we were before about following the hygiene rules,” he added.
Products for which orders came three or four months ago need to be made, Siddiqur Rahman, former president of BGMEA and vice president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), said. There was no disaster in the garment sector last time as the hygiene rules were followed, he was quoted as saying by Bangladeshi media reports.
