Bangladesh knitting mills to remain open during lockdown Published: 15 April 2021
Dhaka - Knitting mills across Bangladesh will continue to operate during the country s new Covid-19 lockdown following a plea from the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).
With the industry key to the national economy, the Bangladeshi government agreed with concerns over closures, which also came from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).
The government has decided to allow factories to run during the lockdown, which began on 14 April following a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Faruque Hassan, president-elect of the BGMEA, confirmed in a WhatsApp message that it had been decided that all export-oriented industries would remain up and running during the lockdown.
Workplace accidents took 729 lives in 2020
Says BILS study Staff Correspondent Staff Correspondent
Some 732 workers died in events such as accidents, torture and labour unrest last year, according to a new study of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS).
The highest number of deaths, 348, were in the transport sector, and the second highest, 84, in the construction sector.
BILS deputy director Yousuf Al Mamun, shared the findings in an event at the Jatiya Press Club yesterday.
The BILS data said some 433 workers, 387 men and 46 women, were injured in 2020. The highest number of injuries, 68, were in the fisheries sector.
The survey, made from newspaper reports and articles, said 596 workers were victims of different incidents of torture last year. Among the tortured, 316 died, 229 were injured, eight went missing, 24 died by suicide, 14 were rescued from kidnappers; five others cases were not mentioned.
Knitwear makers want 2-yr suspension of raise
Workers threaten movement
Union leaders want the continuation of a 5 per cent annual increment of wages for garment workers while knitters demand that the government let them suspend it for the next two years for mitigating the Covid-19 fallout.
Factories cannot bypass this legal requirement and should instead provide additional facilities to tide workers over through such tough times, the union leaders said.
The increment is a legitimate right of workers, said Nazma Akter, president of workers rights platform Samilito Garment Sramik Federation in a letter to the labour secretary yesterday.
She said many workers have become jobless since some factories had to shut down production since March 27 last year.