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Published : 08 Dec 2015, 12:05 AM
He was speaking at the inauguration of an international exhibition on building and fire safety at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka on Monday.
The minister said Bangladesh’s garment factories have undergone a transformation.
“Most of the factories are now ‘compliant’ [with standards set for them]. Workers are working in a safe and job-friendly environment. Fire and building safety have greatly improved. Workers are happy with the safe working environment.”
He said the fire outbreak at Tazreen Fashions and the Rana Plaza building collapse had created a wrong impression about Bangladesh among many nations.
“Government and private initiatives have helped the country tide over the image crisis. It is now gaining ground in exports.”
The three-day exhibition is being organised by industrial safety consultants Elevate Partners Ltd.
Garment exporter’s association BGMEA and North American garment importers’ group Alliance are helping to host the show.
Accord and Alliance have the sanction to do factory inspections in the country until July 2018.
International buyers of Bangladeshi garments formed the two bodies that entered into a contract with garment manufacturers to improve working conditions and safety standards.
They began work in 2013 for a contract term of five years.
Alliance has so far inspected 587 factories and trained the workers employed by many of them. Accord has inspected 1,289 factories.
The minister said there are many countries in the world that do not allow anyone to inspect their factories. “Those intending to inspect them are not given visas.”
“But in our country we have Alliance and Accord. They are trying to have their terms extended. But that will not be allowed. They will not get even a day’s extension.”
