Hasina for safe workplace

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on May Day appealed to the owners of readymade garment (RMG) factories to make their units a safer and better place to work at.

She also asked the workers to shun the path of violence and destruction, and protect the industry, so as to secure their own jobs and future.

Readymade garment industry is the country’s main foreign exchange earner, fetching $19 billion in exports in 2012.

McKinsey says Bangladesh's garment exports could touch $40-billion mark by 2020.

“You (owners) have to accept the rights of the workers if you want to do business,” Hasina told the factory owners, while inaugurating a two-day May Day fair at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Hasina also reiterated all possible support for treatment and rehabilitation of the Savar victims.

She said one of the injured rescuers had been sent to Singapore for better treatment.

“Ejaj Uddin Chowdhury Kaikobad burnt his face while rescuing others… The government will do everything possible to get him treated,” she said.

She said safety measures in the RMG factories would be reviewed to prevent recurrence of any such tragedies in the future.

Hasina laid bare her government’s plan to create a specialised zone for setting up garment factories to prevent frequent mishaps.

The nine-storey Rana Plaza caved in on Apr 24, killing over 400 people and injuring thousands near the Savar Bus Stand.

There are allegations that the building lacked structural stability as it was constructed on a land that was once a water body.

Meanwhile, the May Day is being observed across Bangladesh with due solemnity.

The government is observing the May Day with the slogan "Safe Workplace for Bangladesh's Progress.”