A report by Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment (DIFE) of Ministry of Labor and Employment, Bangladesh, finds remediation financing for the readymade garment industry, computerised registration, accurate lists and data of factories and establishments and strong coordination among inspection authorities are key challenges to ensure workplace safety.

DIFE disclosed the challenges in its report titled ‘Labour Inspection System in Bangladesh’. The report said, it has made a total of 24,107 inspection visits in RMG factories, shops and other organisations in 2014, where it found 44,347 cases of violation of rules in safety, occupational health, maternity protection, terms and conditions. Most of the violations were found in the non-RMG factories.

The minister said, to ensure occupational health safety and providing treatment, the government has taken initiative to establish twp hospitals in Gazipur and Narayanganj with capacity of 300 bed facilities each.

The minister said the RMG owners won’t be able to escape workers’ rights after the labour act had been amended. He urged the buyers to increase prices of products as the manufacturers had to spend a lot to improve safety standards.