ILO call to hire more Factory Inspectors

The chief of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has called upon the Bangladesh government to appoint hundreds of Factory Inspectors on an ‘urgent basis’ so as to ensure safety for the readymade garment workers.

Talking to the Daily Independent of Britain, ILO Director-General (DG) Guy Ryder mentioned some urgent steps that must be taken to avoid frequent accidents in Bangladesh’s garment factories, in which hundreds lose their lives every year.

The first step, he stressed, was to appoint Inspectors to oversee the safety measures in the factories.

He said currently only 55 such Inspectors were working in such a calamity-prone sector. “The number is inadequate,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.

সাভারের রানা প্লাজায় সপ্তম দিনের মতো চলছে উদ্ধার অভিযান।

Ryder felt that the western garments industries, which were the buyers of the cheap Bangladeshi goods, needed to ‘take more responsibility’ for the garment factories’ safety in Bangladesh.

He also blamed the Bangladesh government for not responding to ILO’s previous calls for taking actions to prevent recurrent factory accidents.

“The government of Bangladesh should have come forward first (over the issue). But they did not take steps as per our requests,” he told the daily.

He said the ILO was ready to provide training in this purpose. “But the government of Bangladesh will have to pass a proper labour law first,” he said.