Business Desk :
The country’s national safety committee has so far inspected 5,200 factories to ensure occupation safety, said Salman F Rahman, the prime minister’s adviser on private industry and investment.
The government formed a national safety inspection agency in July 2021 to monitor the safety problems in the factories, which were not inspected by the Accord and Alliance.
All industry will be secured like the export-oriented factories, Rahman said.
Like the export-oriented industries, the government aims to secure all the industries which are producing goods for the local market, he said.
Rahman made the comments while addressing a workshop on “Promoting occupational health and safety for improving productivity” jointly organised by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) at the FBCCI office in the capital on Tuesday.
The national committee will soon complete inspecting all the factories, the adviser also said.
He said many factory owners were reluctant to go for reforms in the garment sector in the beginning, but now they are enjoying the benefit of the inspection and remediation.
The garment sector is getting the benefits of decent working environment and the local pharmaceutical industry has also gained worldwide reputation for quality factories, he said.
Gorge Faller, ILO’s technical adviser, called for the successful implementation of government policies to make the sector safer. Safe workplace is beneficial for both the employer and the worker, he said.
Faller expects that Bangladesh should work for the safe and sound workplace so that the world recognise “Made in Bangladesh” goods as safe products.
Md Ehsan-E- Elahi, secretary for labour and employment ministry, said safety, quality and production are interrelated in the industry. The productivity of the workers and quality of the manufactured goods will improve with the improvement of the working environment of the factories, Elahi said.