Editorial
Safety measures for workers on the table
Strong will and constant monitoring essential for compliance
Ashulia garments fire has been the latest in the series of embarrassments one of our largest foreign exchange earning sectors has caused to the country. The highest number of deaths so far in garment fire hogging international media attention, the overseas buyers are chagrined and worried. Are the BGMEA and its constituent manufacturers and exporters any wiser and resolute to call a halt to the accidents?
There are concerns at three levels: first, workers have been dying in droves over the years in fires that on the one hand were waiting to happen and on the other patently avoidable. Secondly, international buyers are perturbed over obligations to tax-payers and retailers for ensuring that the goods they bought bear the stamp of compliance with minimum work safety standards. Third, since the industry is a golden goose for the owners, exporters and importers, why mustn't the workers be treated in a way that they too can own it up as such.
In almost all the fires that took place, the central reason has been absence of exits in case of emergency. Then come the issues of electrical system, which once installed hardly ever checked for repair and maintenance, standard fire fighting equipment such as hydrants and fire extinguishers in working conditions, training drills, risk perception, and above all, the floor in-charge chosen as a ramming rod as though to shepherd the workers most of them women. The house administration and culture needs a complete overhaul driven by a will to change from being extractive to one of respect for their labour and skill. Let's not forget that by keeping the workers dissatisfied and insecure, owners are really making them vulnerable to external influence peddling.
The international buyers in a meeting with the BGMEA on Friday put forward recommendations such as upgrading BGMEA fire safety cell, training the owners first and then mid-level officials and workers, revising building code, reviewing fire licence, conducting fire drills, keeping collapsible gates open and assessing power supply regularly. An important piece of advice is to 'listen to workers' which necessarily calls for a forum of the workers viz. some form of trade union in place.
Customers have the last word in business, and therefore, they must be heeded.
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