Over 2 million RMG workers whose jobs got affected due to cancellations and hold-up of export orders till yesterday will remain employed and continue to get their wages for the next two months, said BGMEA President Rubana Huq. International buyers cancelled or held up orders worth over $3 billion till yesterday due to the coronavirus pandemic. This could affect 2.19 million workers in 1,104 factories across Bangladesh. This development has prompted international media to report that more than a million garment workers in Bangladesh have lost their jobs. “But that is not the case,” said Rubana, adding, “It is true that these factories got affected by the order cancellations. But as per the labour law of the country, the factories will continue to pay the affected workers their wages for two months.” The affected factories would be able to tap into the Tk5,000 crore stimulus package of the government.  “None of the apparel workers have lost jobs, at maximum, they were laid off due to a lack of orders,” the BGMEA president added.  As per the labour law, two months is the maximum lay-off period, she added. “I strongly recommend that no one should lose their jobs for being absent in these critical times,” she further said. Former vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Md Shahidullah Azim said that as per the labour law, factory owners have to pay workers whether they have any business or not if the factories opt for lay-offs.  “Every brand and buyer has a responsibility and they should come forward to share the loss, otherwise it will be a big burden for us,” he added.  Some apparel makers think that a lay-off is better than operating during the coronavirus outbreak. But as per the recent instruction of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), apparel factory owners should run their units during the coronavirus outbreak after ensuring workers’ health safety.  As per the DIFE directive, testing workers’ body temperatures through a thermal scanner before entering the factory is mandatory.  Factory owners will have to take the necessary steps for the treatment of workers, including quarantining them if any symptoms are detected. “It is a very risky job to operate the apparel factories as these are high-density workplaces,” said David Hasanat, chairman and managing director of leading garment exporter Viyellatex Group. “We have already laid off our workers under the Labour Act 2006. When we reopen, we will hire them back,” he added  “During this period, I have to pay 16,000 of my workers about Tk17 crore per month by borrowing from the government’s stimulus fund,” said David.  Apparel makers said this is like running a charity with borrowed money. The apparel industry of Bangladesh has about 4,500 factories and employs 4.1 million workers.

A total of 985 factories including readymade garments and textile units that fall under the jurisdiction of Industrial Police remained open until Sunday amid coronavirus outbreak in the country. According to the Industrial Police (IP), there are some 7,408 industrial units in the IP’s six zones including Ashulia in Dhaka, Gazipur, Chattogram, Narayanganj, Mymensingh and Khulna. Out of the 7,408 units, 3,366 are readymade garments and textile factories and the rest are jute mills, cement factories, re-rolling mills and other factories. IP sources said that out of the 985 factories which remained open, 299 were textile and RMG units. The IP data showed that there were 1,887 member factories of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association in the six zones and 183 of them remained open until Sunday. Out of the 1,094 factories registered with the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, 35 remained open. A total of 385 factories are registered with the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association and 81 of them remained open until Sunday, the data showed. The rest 4,042 factories belong to other sectors and 686 of them remained open. The IP data also showed that there were 194 factories under the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and 175 of them remained closed on Sunday. BGMEA officials said that most of the member factories of the trade body announced a closure and a few of the units which were producing personal protection equipment and masks to prevent the coronavirus outbreak in the country remained open. Bangladesh Garment Shramik Sanghati president Taslima Akhter and general secretary Julhasnayeen Babu on Sunday demanded an immediate closure of garment factories with advance pay to protect the workers from the infection of COVID-19. The labour rights organisation said that it was concerning that some of the factories were still open, putting the workers and the other staff at risk of coronavirus infection as social distancing was a must to protect people from the epidemic. 

Swedish retail giant H&M yesterday assured its garment suppliers of taking shipment of goods that have already been manufactured, much to the relief of some Bangladeshi exporters. H&M came up with the message at a time when apparel suppliers across the world, including those from Bangladesh, are being slammed by work order cancellations and delayed shipments. “We will stand by our commitments to our garment manufacturing suppliers by taking delivery of the already produced garments as well as goods in production,” said H&M in a media message. The Swedish company did not mention any particular supplier from any particular country. H&M sources garment and textile items worth nearly $4 billion from more than 230 Bangladeshi factories annually, according to industry insiders. “We will, of course, pay for these goods and we will do it under agreed payment terms. In addition, we will not negotiate prices on already placed orders,” H&M said. At this point, it is necessary to temporarily pause new orders as well as evaluate potential changes on recently placed orders. “We will start placing orders again as soon as the situation allows,” H&M added. Meanwhile, as of 5pm yesterday, 1,025 factories reported cancellation of 864.17 million units of work orders worth $2.81 billion, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). H&M says it is well aware that the suppliers, and their employees, are extremely vulnerable in this situation. “Given the constantly changing situation and the uncertainty that we, the industry and the whole world are facing, we want to be clear and transparent towards our garment suppliers.” The entire fashion industry now faces its biggest challenge ever, according to the Swedish company. “And we utilise all our networks and contacts to find solutions that can contribute in the best possible way.” Companies such as H&M play a key role in many developing countries, as well as global trade. The textile industry contributes to economic growth, employment and stability in textile producing countries. “We are at this instance intensively investigating how we can support countries, societies and individuals from a health and financial perspective. In this first urgent phase, we will focus our efforts on countries that are highly dependent on the textile industry,” the retailer added. Meanwhile, the BGMEA plans to make at least 20,000 personal protective equipment (PPE), which will be donated. “What we are making is a substitute of Level-1 PPE,” it said in a WhatsApp message. Doctors and staff treating COVID-19 patients need level 3/4.

The value of readymade garment export orders cancelled or put on hold by global buyers due to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak exceeded $3 billion till Monday, exporters said. They said that almost all global buyers were cancelling or holding shipment of their orders every day, putting uncertainty on the upcoming orders. According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association data, 1,041 RMG factories on Monday informed the trade body that they received cancelation or shipment delay notices from the buyers for the export orders worth $2.87 billion. BGMEA officials said that it was the picture of only 1,041 factories and many other manufacturers were yet to report to the trade body about the issue. They said that the exact figure of cancelled or delayed orders would be higher than $3 billion. There were plenty of goods which remained in different stages of production or produced already at the factories and ready to be shipped, but due to buyers’ embargo manufacturers could not ship those items, exporters said. Citing BGMEA data, the Associated Press reported that $1.8 billion in orders had been put on hold and another $1.4 billion had been cancelled.It said that cancellations of planned orders, for April-December, amounted to nearly $1.7 billion. ‘Such goods are already financed by the factories, including wages of the workers to be paid. We want these goods to be accepted by the buyers as per schedule and make the payments immediately,’ Mostafiz Uddin, managing director of Bangladesh Denim Expert Ltd, told New Age. He said that there were confirmed orders from buyers for which factories had stocked raw materials in houses but could not start production. ‘At this stage, it is difficult for us to absorb the shock since our operation is based on a cycle of current and upcoming orders which we always finalise and make preparations and allocate our production capacity accordingly,’ Mostafiz said. He said that the sudden cancellation of orders would result in tremendous financial losses since the manufacturers could send their workers home without payment. ‘A partial payment is most logical if we call it responsible purchasing because it will be used to pay wages of the workers,’ Mostafiz added.