Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, at least 47 apparel manufacturing units in the port city of Chittagong shut down last year thereby rendering thousands of garment workers jobless, even as Bangladesh Poshak Shramik Trade Union Federation (Bangladesh Garment Workers Trade Union Federation) have, reportedly, put the figure of retrenched workers at 22,000, who it said, lost jobs due to cut in manpower or factory closures.
Media reports maintained this stating from March to December last year, the factories were closed as foreign buyers cancelled orders and cut prices while adding that of these units, 30 are members of the apex garment makers’ body in the country, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), while underlining that with the second wave of the pandemic, more factories might shut shop for good.
Meanwhile, some labour leaders have, reportedly, alleged that some of these factories did not pay service benefits to most workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic even as First Vice-President of the trade body (BGMEA), Syed Nazrul Islam, reportedly, rejected the allegations even as he underlined that when coronavirus pandemic started in Bangladesh early last year, many foreign buyers cancelled orders and they also paid less for their orders, as a result of which garment makers faced financial crisis and owners of these factories had to shut down their respective units.
Speaking to the media on this issue, the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment (DIFE), Abdullah Al Shakib Mubarrat, reportedly, maintained that DIFE has information that around 10 apparel manufacturing units, which are not members of any organisation, were closed and around 3,000 workers worked there even if some trade union leaders have, reportedly, claimed that DIFE was not very active and does not have the actual figures of closed factories.
