Textile and garment manufacturers and exporters Sunday demanded keeping factories open during the fresh lockdown to help them offset the losses caused by the pandemic. The government issued a notification imposing complete lockdown amid the surge of Covid-19 for eight days from Wednesday allowing the export oriented factories to remain open. Last year, when the government imposed general holidays for 66 days, RMG factories secured the government’s decision in favour of them and that helped the economy significantly to rebound. Most of the factories strongly executed health regulations, maintained social distancing inside the factories and managed to keep infections low However, the South African variant that has hit this year is more deadly compared to the previous variant and requires more attention and complete lockdown.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has decided that all export-oriented industries would remain open during the lockdown. Failure to continue production and ship goods in time will cause the sector huge losses and work orders might be shifted from Bangladesh to other countries. The garment suppliers have been struggling to recover the losses they incurred during the first wave of the pandemic. Bangladesh exported garment items worth $34.12 billion in the fiscal year 2018-19. It came down to $27.94 billion in the last fiscal year. Work orders worth $3.18 billion had either been cancelled or held up by international retailers and brands due to the pandemic. Later, 90 per cent of work orders were restored with discount or delayed payment.
The industry leaders said that adequate safety measures have already been taken at the factory level to protect the workers from Covid-19 infections. Wearing masks is mandatory for workers. Washing hands, maintaining distances and using own transportation in case of long-distance travel have been put in place. In many factories, isolation rooms have been set up. If factories are closed, workers will have to go back to villages. They might spread the virus or get infected by it. The government has given the demand of BGMEA due consideration in view of the significant contribution they make to keep the wheels of the economy running. Now it should ensure that these factories do not violate health norms.
