Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Retailers, consultants, trade unions and rights groups have identified top three challenges – untrained management and supervisors, wrong attitude of management and untrained workers – for Bangladesh garment factories.
In a survey, they have also recommended providing training to managers and workers and increasing external monitoring to help the prime foreign currency earners sector that hit the spotlight following the twin industrial disasters of Tazreen fire and Rana Plaza collapse.
A total of 467 participants took part in the survey conducted by the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a platform of 26 North American retailers at the two-day exposition on building and fire safety at a hotel in the capital Dhaka on Feb 23-24.
Among the respondents, 64% are factory representatives, 18.1% brands, 4.7% consultancies and 2.8% non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and trade unions.
More than 42% participants of a building and fire safety show viewed the standards exhibited were good, but hard to implement, according to two-page survey that also found 35.5% think the standards should be implemented from now.
Around 11%, however, opined that the standards are too stringent to implement, the survey said, adding that the expo would find solutions for the fire and building safety challenges to contribute to improve safety in the readymade garment (RMG) factories.
Mesbah Rabin, managing director of the Alliance in Bangladesh, disclosed the survey at a press briefing at the hotel on Feb 24 after concluding two-day exposition.
The organisers said more than 2,600 participants and exhibitors representing 800 Bangladeshi factories and 40 engineering, technology and materials companies joined the exposition, organised by the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, with support from Accord on Fire and Building Safety, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), C&A Foundation and International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank.
A total of 42 exhibitors from Bangladesh, India, the Middle East, China, the United States and Europe shared the latest safety materials available to fortify factory enhancements.
BBN/SSR/AD-26Feb14-9:08 am (BST)