Bangladesh fire department inspects garment factories

30 Nov '12

2 min read

The Fire Service and Civil Defence Directorate, under Bangladesh’s Ministry of Home Affairs, has launched a surprise inspection at several readymade garment (RMG) manufacturing factories after a fire incident at a garment unit killed over 110 workers last week.

The fire service department has set up 15 teams to inspect more than 500 garment making units in Ashulia industrial belt, where most of the RMG units are based, as per bdnews24.com.

The inspection teams have already visited some garment making units and checked the premises for accessibility of fire exits as well as existence of fire extinguishing systems.

After completion of checks in all apparel manufacturing factories in Ashulia, the fire service department is also likely to inspect clothing units in remaining parts of the country.

At the end of their inspection, the department would submit a report to the Home Ministry, and some units which do not meet safety standards might be asked to shutdown.

Labour activists have raised their pitch for better work and safety conditions after the recent fire at Tazreen Fashions Ltd.

Around 700 garment workers have lost their lives in fires while at work in the last five years, according to the Amsterdam-based Clean Clothes Campaign.

Bangladesh is the second biggest apparel producer in the world, behind China on the strength of being amongst the world’s low cost producers. In fact, the RMG sector contributes around 80 percent to Bangladesh’s foreign exchange earnings.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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