Refayet Ullah Mirdha

The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) has launched an investigation to find out whether the garment factories that are going for temporary closures following mass order cancellations are doing so by the book.

The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) has been making a guideline for reopening the garment factories, most of which have been asked to shut down by the sector’s apex trade body on April 11.

The Bangladesh Bank has extended the deadline for opening mobile financial service (MFS) accounts for the employees of export-oriented factories by six days to April 26.

Bangladesh’s export earnings await a massive blow in the coming months as the global coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on orders and shipment while sending factories to a near standstill, exporters and experts said.

Export earnings in March declined by 18.29 percent year on year to $2.73 billion due to a fall in shipment of apparels, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

At least 370 garment factories have failed to pay their workers’ salary within the stipulated time of April 16, said the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE).

The logistics and freight forwarding business in Bangladesh has been devastated by the global coronavirus pandemic, which has led to a nosedive in transportation of goods by land, air and sea.

The garment factories are not reopening on April 26, which was fixed by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) earlier.

Social distancing has proven to be one of the most effective ways to contain the spread of the lethal coronavirus but the safeguard remains largely elusive in Bangladesh’s garment factories that employ about 4.1 million people.

The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) on April 14 issued a statement saying the government will take legal action against factory owners if they fail to pay workers by April 16.

Three rights platforms for the garment sector in a joint statement expressed concern over the termination of 10,000 workers from different garment factories following the coronavirus outbreak.

Only 9 per cent garment factories pay wages to workers through mobile financial services (MFS) and 4 per cent through banks, according to a new study, whose findings may make it difficult for the country to digitally pay 4.1 million apparel workers overnight.

Six textile and garment-producing Asian nations have joined hands to urge global apparel retailers and brands to show responsible business behaviour during the coronavirus pandemic.

At least 15 international apparel retailers and brands have so far assured Bangladesh’s garment manufacturers that they will accept shipments of products that were previously ordered, in an effort to help the country’s exporters deal with the coronavirus fallout.

Yarn and fabrics worth Tk 3,500 crore have piled up in some 250 spinning and weaving mills because of the ongoing movement restriction to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The owners of export-oriented companies and factories can pay wages to their workers for up to three months from the Tk 5,000 crore stimulus package unveiled by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Bangladesh will remain an eligible country for the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) as the European Ombudsman has found no maladministration in a case filed over non-compliance of labour rights.

Many international clothing retailers are coming up with assurances to help garment suppliers by taking the shipment of goods that have already been manufactured or ordered, in a relief to the exporters reeling from the coronavirus fallout.

The government will disburse interest-free soft loans for two years among the export-oriented sectors from the Tk 5,000 crore stimulus package the prime minister unveiled to cope with the fallout from COVID-19.

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.