Close on heels of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) making public its findings on garment workers retrenchment – as per BILS, 1,915 garment manufacturing units have shut down or laid-off workers, while a total of 324,684 garment workers have become unemployed during the coronavirus pandemic in the country – the apex garment makers body of the country, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has denied that workers’ lay-off and factory closures have not been as high as has been underlined in the BILS report.
In a press release issued recently, the BGMEA has not only disagreed with the BILS findings but also underlined that terming the study report as default of morality would not be an exaggeration.
Speaking to the media, a director of BGMEA, Rezwan Selim reportedly said that around 300 small and medium factories, most of which work on sub-contracts, had to close down operations due to financial stress and around 48,000 workers (in and around capital Dhaka) employed with sub-contracting units that have failed to get work orders from mother units, have lost their jobs.
It may be mentioned here that even though some BILS officials have underlined that the study was carried out with information provided by the BGMEA, Industrial Police and the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), as has been stated in some media reports, both DIFE and BGMEA have disapproved of the number of workers’ retrenchment and factory closures, as stated in the BILS’ report.
