Liberty Fashion blasts factory closing Tribune Report The buyers forcibly closed the production of the factory violating all ethics The owner of Liberty Fashion Wears Ltd alleged that the buyers had “unethically and irrationally” closed production on the ground of having inadequate fire safety arrangements. “They (the buyers) forcibly closed the production of the factory violating all ethics,” alleged Mozammel Huq, chairman and managing director of Liberty Fashion at a press conference in Dhaka on Sunday. He said: “The MCS report said the building would collapse within 60 hours, but it still stands on its foundation.” According to him, the buyer even did not follow the existing rules of Bangladesh government and the guidelines of safety accord. Liberty Fashion owner said the report of the Midway Consultancy Services (MCS) is “unfounded and fabricated”, which the company has prepared to be “benefited financially.” After Rana Plaza incidence in April, the Tesco had appointed the engineering firm MCS to assess the structural design of the building. MCS made a report on visual observation and assumption, identifying the building with “Red” mark. The report mentioned the building unsafe with regard to having adequate fire safety measures and recommended BGMEA, ILO, Labour Ministry, RAJUK and the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defense shut down the factory. Then, the production eventually became suspended. Following the publishing of MCS report, Mozammel Huq told the Dhaka tribune that he demanded the BGMEA appoint experts from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). At the press briefing, the Liberty Fashion chairman requested the Tesco chairman to consider the matter with importance as there are 5,000 workers’ living is involved. BGMEA president Atiqul Islam said: “We talked to the Accord over the issue, but could not reach any solution.” He feared such kind of decisions could lead the country’s RMG sector to facing a critical situation. “The buyers should be more careful while dealing with such issue.” Zahir Al Maun, general manager of Liberty Fashion, said after the Tesco’s decision, other buyers of Europe are making orders for products. He said around 75% of the company’s products are bought by the EU buyers. In its inspection report, the BGMEA stated: “As per visual engineering judgment, the Liberty Fashion building is safe for operating garment activities.” Another report by the BUET experts said: “From the visual inspection, no sign of disaster was observed in any of the structures of the building.” However, the BUET experts made some recommendations to make the factory compliant
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 21:05:40 +0000
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