The country’s RMG manufacturers are likely to get two more months to complete RMG factory assessment –structural integrity, fire and electrical safety inspection – led by the ILO and the government. Syed Ahmed, inspector general of Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), has raised the issue on extending the deadline at the meeting held in the city recently, a senior official, who attended the meeting, told the Dhaka Tribune on condition of anonymity. Ambassadors from five countries, who attended the meeting, also advocated in favour of extending the time frame while the ILO representatives agreed to extend the deadline in principle. “The ILO will soon formally inform the BGMEA authorities through issuing a letter,” said the official. The 3+5 committee, comprising of three secretaries from Labour, Commerce and Foreign Affairs ministry and five ambassadors from EU, US, Canada and the Netherlands have been regularly reviewing the progress of implementation of the Sustainability Compact and progress in the RMG sector. Earlier, the BGMEA in a letter urged the International LabourOrganisation(ILO) to extend the time frame for completing cost-free factory inspection by two more months as the owners faced trouble due to Ramadan and Eid vacation. “We’ve sought extension of the deadline to complete safety inspection as the factory owners has faced troubles due to Ramadan, Eid vacation and the delayed start of the inspection,” BGMEA Vice President ShahidullahAzim told the Dhaka Tribune. The ILO had earlier extended its deadline several times and lastly it was extended till July 30 through a letter signed by its Country Director Srinivas B Reddy on May 6. The ILO also said after the deadline (July 30) the assessment would require charge that has to be borne by the building and factory owners. Under the initiative, the ILO-led inspection has so far inspected 1,031 RMG factories in collaboration with BGMEA and BKMEA and would inspect 300 more factories. The ILO through its “Improving Working Conditions in the RMG Sector” funded by the Royal Netherlands Government, Canada and UK is providing financial and technical assistance for the government of Bangladesh for implementation of the National Tripartite Plan (NAP) of Action Plan on Fire and Structural Integrity in the country’s RMG sector.The NAP was signed in 25 July 2013. The safety issues came under spotlight after the Rana Plaza factory collapse that killed over 1,135 workers and injured over 2,500 people on April 24, 2013.
