Coronavirus pandemic has virtually forced the readymade garment workers to face uncertainty and financial insecurity ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of Muslims.-. “We are apprehensive of bad time ahead as nobody knows what is going to happen next due to the pandemic coronavirus outbreak globally. I could just say you that all readymade garment workers are in the grip of uncertainty”, M Kabir Hossain, Secretary of National Garment Workers Federation, told this reporter while talking to The Bangladesh Post on Friday.
K.M Ali Azam, Secretary of Labour and Employment Ministry, told The Bangladesh Post, “We are constantly working for workers’ safety. Not only the garment sector, rather we already directed factory owners in every sector to adopt proper safety measures for workers, including setting up thermal scanner at every gate of factory, keeping hand washing products with hand sanitizer, providing enough masks and maintaining directives of the directorate general of health service (DGHS)”.
“Kabir Hossain told The Bangladesh Post, “Although the factory owners are adopting safety measures in their respective factories, including providing hand washing products and masks to prevent Coronavirus infection, it is not enough to prevent virus infection where thousands of workers work together in a factory. We also do not expect that the factories will be closed, if the factories are closed then all workers will face such critical situation that we cannot even imagine.”
RMG worker leader in Savar Khairul Mamun Mintu, also Organizing Secretary of Garment Sramik Trade Union Kendra, told The Bangladesh Post, “The scenario is really a matter of concern. Already I got to know that the few garment factories have started sacking their workers in large numbers in Savar. Although we have not talked to the garment owners, we have demand to give leaves to the workers with salary considering the present situation.”
However, K.M Ali Azam, Secretary of Labour and Employment Ministry, said “After hearing that a readymade garment factory named ‘Rose’ has sacked 40 of its RMG workers on Thursday, we have handled it immediately. But we do not have any further news about worker’s sacking.”
Mintu said, “The major fear is that our maximum RMG workers are not aware of the Coronavirus, even they do not know how to protect themselves amid the virus outbreak as thousands of workers work together in the factories. Therefore I urge the owners to issue additional warnings in their factories.”
“Workers in the rented houses and colony in Savar and Ashulia are more prone to risks than the workers in the factories as the houses are too unhygienic and unclean. Also, we do not see proper awareness initiatives of local administration for alerting mass people in this area”, the workers leader alleged.
Meanwhile, while talking to several readymade garment (RMG) workers in Savar, this correspondent found maximum workers in darkness about the coronavirus outbreak. Some of them were found panicked, but they don’t know how to protect themselves from the virus infection. Some of them think that may be cold water is enough to prevent infection and some are thinking they will not be affected due to hot weather condition in the country. “Such unawareness of is also a matter of concern in present situation”, said health experts.
Dr. Sayemul Huda, Health and Family Planning Officer of Savar and also the Member Secretary of Upazila Coronavirus Prevention Committee of Savar, told The Bangladesh Post that “I think at first we should keep shut the garment factories considering the present situation as thousands of workers work together and it’s a matter of risk.” On other hand this correspondent could not reach Dr. Rubana Huq, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), despite making several phone calls.
