DUE to government’s failure to recruit inspectors and assistant inspectors general (Health) in the Department of Inspection of Factories and Establishment (DIFE) for ensuring welfare, safety and health of human resources in factories, the garment industries are at threat from the US, EU, ILO, WHO, the retailers and consumers. In order to restore the US generalized system of preferences (GSP) and to fulfil conditions set by the International Labour Organisation recruitment of competent and eligible inspectors in garments and other industries is a vital need. If the government fails to recruit necessary manpower, resuming the GSP facilities will be delayed and even be lost forever and reveal the authorities’ insincerity.
Several English dailies have reported that the recruitment of inspectors in the DIFE is unlikely as the candidates who passed the 33rd BCS Examination but not recruited in class-I jobs are not interested to join the non-cadre jobs. The Class dilemma compelled the 7,422 candidates who passed in 33rd BCS, but are not recruited, to not apply for the non-cadre jobs in DIFE. In the same way, none of the physicians who passed the BCS examination agreed to work as assistant inspectors general (Health). Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) sources said, only six engineers and 14 general candidates agreed to work in the DIFE. The DIFE is functioning with only 140 inspectors though 575 posts of 1st class and 2nd class inspectors have been created recently.
The Labour Ministry and the Commerce Ministry are unhappy on the issue as the government missed the deadline set by the Sustainability Compact to appoint 200 factory inspectors by June (2014) for safety and working atmosphere compliances in apparel factories. Although the agreement initially set December 30, 2013 as a deadline for recruiting the needed inspectors, the government sought more time twice after failing to complete the formalities. The causes behind the PSC’s inability to place candidates are mainly bureaucratic lags and the status of the job being a non-cadre one to the class conscious “Class-I gazetted status” aspirants.
Any further delay in appointing the inspectors could make it difficult for the government to convince the US to restore its GSP facilities or the EU to continue to provide the benefits. The government is due to place its progress report at the Bangladesh Global Sustainability Compact meeting on next October 30 in Brussels and at the ILO executive committee meeting in November this year.
As a quick solution, Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar said the Labour Ministry could request the Health Ministry to provide on deputation physicians to work as assistant inspectors general (Health) as over 1,000 physicians are now marking time as Officers on Special Duty. While the US set the prerequisite of ensuring health and safety for workers in factories for restoring GSP facilities and the ILO outcries garment workers health hazards, why does not our government move to recruit manpower directly bypassing the PSC ? Or the PSC on its own can make a fresh advertisement for recruitment against these specific posts on priority basis as is done in other non-cadre 1st Class jobs of the Republic. In the interest of the country’s economic gains, there should not be any further delay in filling up the posts.
