BGMEA, BKMEA leaders at Ganabhaban

The apparel business leaders have gone to the Ganabhaban to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina two days after the collapse of the nine-storey block in Savar that has so far claimed 304 lives.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 26 April 2013, 11:34 AM
Updated : 26 April 2013, 12:03 PM

The leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association (BKMEA) left for Ganabhaban after a meeting at the BGMEA building at around 10pm on Friday.

Former BGMEA President Abdus Salam Murshedy told bdnews24.com that they would discuss the issue of arrest of the building owner and owners of the five readymade clothing factories housed in the huge structure.
They would also talk about compensation for the deceased workers and the injured ones.
Earlier in the day, leaders of the export-focused apparel bodies decided to suspend production in all readymade garment factories closed on Saturday and Sunday in the wake of labour unrest and vandalism following the worst ever collapse.

The death toll has climbed to 304 as rescuers look for last survivors under heaps of steel and concrete two days after the huge block, that developed cracks on Tuesday, suddenly collapsed.

Most of the victims were garment workers while the building housed five readymade garment factories alongside 300 shops with nearly 5,000 workers.

Many survivors alleged that the owners of their garment factories forced them to go back to work on Wednesday morning against their will.

Angry over the deaths in Savar building collapse, garment workers laid siege to the BGMEA building and blocked roads in the capital on Thursday, demanding immediate arrest of the owner of nine-storey building at Savar.

Workers in Ashulia, Savar, Gazipur and Narayanganj blocked highways and carried out vandalism protesting the death of their fellows, forcing the factories in the areas closed for the day.

For the second day on Friday, thousands of garment workers vandalised over 100 vehicles in Dhaka disrupting vehicular movement on several city streets for hours.

In the face of the demands of the labour organisations, the BGMEA on Thursday suspended the membership of five factories that were housed in Rana Plaza.

Of the five garment factories, Mahbubur Rahman and Bazlul Samad Adnan are the owners of New Wave Bottoms and New Wave Style. Aminul Islam is the owner of Phantom Appeals and Track while Anisur Rahman is the owner of Eithertex.