Garment factories in Bangladesh could resume operations from 26 April! But it all depends on the existing Coronavirus situation in the country.
The apex garment makers’ body of the country, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) plans to further consult ILO, WHO and other concerned authorities before taking a call, underlined a media report.
The BGMEA President Dr. Rubana Huq reportedly said this while interacting with the pressmen.
It may be mentioned here that Bangladesh garment manufacturing sector – considered the backbone of the country’s economy – has been under a lot of stress amidst large scale order cancellations, workers’ unrest in demand of salary disbursement and the countrywide shutdown clamped by the Government to control the Coronavirus pandemic from spreading further.
This has rendered most of the garment factories to shut down except the ones that are producing the life-saving PPE and facemasks for the frontline COVID-19 warriors.
Even though the Government has declared a Taka 50 billion bailout package to pay workers’ wages of all export-oriented sectors, industry insiders feel the amount is not enough.
Many economists believe that there is no option for the country but open the RMG sector, which accounts for 84 per cent of the country’s total US $ 40 billion exports, large scale employment generation apart.
Public health experts are, however, in favour of phase wise opening to avoid further public health emergency.
