The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has temporarily suspended issuing utilisation declaration (UD) certificates to 84 non-compliant factories, said industry insiders.
The apex apparel trade-body took the decision on Wednesday, three days after the government's directive in this connection.
On January 05, the state-run Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) instructed the BGMEA to stop providing the UD facility to some of its 143 members.
The DIFE issues the decree, as it found that these 143 members of the BGMEA did not take any move towards remediation, and did not submit any drawing and design for remediation work to the department to date.
In another letter, sent to the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) on December 29, the DIFE also attached a list of 46 non-compliant factories, and asked for temporary suspension on their UD issuance.
The BGMEA in a letter to the DIFE on Wednesday informed that in compliance with the department's instruction, it has taken the decision of suspending UD issuance to 84 'non-compliant' factories, out of a total of 143.
The factories are located in Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chattogram, the letter mentioned.
When asked, the BGMEA president Dr Rubana Huq said, "Out of 143 units, some 54 factories are taking UD from the BGMEA, and we can't cancel their UD outright without asking."
The trade-body will sit with the 54 factory authorities next week in this connection.
Out of the 84 units, some 49 do not take UD from the BGMEA, while the rest 38 are closed ones, she also said.
"Factories which haven't been able to comply with the basic requirements, even after six years of the Rana Plaza tragedy, don't qualify to be considered. Suspension of their UD issuance is the first step," she said.
Ms Huq noted that the BGMEA also requested the DIFE to further review data of some 28 units.
Regarding the 49 factories, she said the units might be in operation, but the trade-body is yet to identify their present status.
In last June, the BGMEA also suspended issuing UD to 51 of its member factories, nine months after the DIFE's instruction for doing it for 142 units.
Immediately after the Rana Plaza building collapse in April 2013, three initiatives were launched to improve workplace safety in the country's ready-made garment industry.
These are - the European retailers' platform Accord, North American buyers' platform Alliance, and the government and the ILO-supported National Initiative.
A total of 3,780 garment factories underwent structural, fire and electrical safety inspection under the three initiatives.
According to industry people, over 90 per cent progress has been recorded in the Accord- and Alliance-listed factories, while progress in the units under National Initiative is relatively poor.
