Published in New Age on Saturday, 1 March 2014.
Govt to create RMG database with public access
Garment owners express reservations about full publice access
Moinul Haque
The government has taken a move to create a publicly accessible database of the country’s garment factories but the manufacturers have expressed their fear that public discloser of factory report would hamper their business and benefit their competitors.
Expressing reservations about full public access of the proposed database, the garment sector leaders said that it was a sensitive issue and the government would have to ensure confidentiality of business strategy.
RMG factory owners have already informed the government about their reservations about public discloser of all information to be put in the database.
A publicly accessible database is one of the key requirements of the GSP action plan of US as well as European Union.
The US government on June 27 last year suspended the generalised system of preferences for Bangladesh due to an insufficient improvement in worker rights condition.
US on July 19 last year gave 16-point Bangladesh Action Plan for reinstating GSP facility for Bangladesh.
In the action plan, the US suggested that Bangladesh should create a publicly accessible database/matrix of all RMG/knitwear factories as a platform for reporting labour, fire, and building inspections, including information on the factories and locations, violations identified, fines and sanctions administered, factories closed or relocated, violations remediated, and the names of the lead inspectors.
The database will also contain reports on anti-union discrimination or other unfair labour practices.
At a recent meeting with five foreign diplomats including US ambassador in Dhaka Dan W Mozena and EU ambassador to Bangladesh William Hanna, the government officials assured that the government had taken an initiative to create the database in association with the International Labour Organisation.
Garment factory owners said that if a factory has faults and factory inspection or audit reports are shared in the database, the factory might lose its buyers even after it corrects its defects.
The BGMEA leaders in different meetings with buyers have also expressed their concerns over public access of factory information.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Atiqul Islam told New Age that they were not against the proposed database but it would be created carefully as the issue was very sensitive.
‘We have informed the government about the reservations of owners about public discloser of factory information and requested them (government) not to adopt any policy which will damage the reputation of the sector,’ he said.
The BGMEA president said that if inspection outcomes or audit reports of a factory are shared by Alliance or Accord on their web sites, it (sharing) might destroy the business of the factory once and for all as it might lose its buyers.
‘So, Alliance and Accord should not do that. They may cite on their web sites the period they have set for a factory for improving its compliance, and after that certain period they may make the inspection report public if the factory fails to do the necessary improvements,’ Atiqul said.
Experts said that database is more important to ensure accountability and transparency in the sector but there should some restrictions on access at the initial stage.
‘It will not be wise to make the initial inspection report public unless a factory fails to carry out remediation plan within a stipulated timeframe,’ Centre for Policy Dialogue additional director (research) Khondaker Golam Moazzem told New Age.
He said that database accessibility should have to be limited within National Tripartite Committee and respective buyers and factory owners as it would be negative for the sector if the initial assessment reports of factories are made public instantly.
If a factory fails to do the required improvements within a certain period of time, the inspection report may be made public, Moazzem said.
He, however, said that the labour ministry should have the control over the database to cross check allegations.
BGMEA vice-president Shahidullah Azim said, ‘If all the things in the database remain open to public, it (full public access) will hamper business privacy and it will not be wise to share business strategy with my competitors.’
Selective information might be shared in the database and the concerned ministries, BGMEA and buyers should have access to it, he said.