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.
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.