SHIMULIA (Bangladesh) – Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers rushed back to major cities today, besieging train and bus stations, after the government said export factories can reopen despite a deadly coronavirus wave.
With the economy badly hit by the pandemic, the government excluded factories that supply top brands in Europe and North America from a nationwide lockdown order.
Authorities had ordered factories, offices, public transport and shops to close from July 23 to August 5 as daily Covid-19 infections and deaths hit record levels.
Officially, Bangladesh has reported 1.2 million cases and more than 20,000 deaths. Experts, however, said the real figures are at least four times higher.
The government said the country’s 4,500 garment factories, which employ more than four million people, can reopen from tomorrow, sparking a rush back to industrial cities.
Influential garment factory owners earlier warned of “catastrophic” consequences if orders for foreign brands are not completed on time.
Hundreds of thousands who had gone back to their villages to celebrate the Aidiladha festival and sit out the lockdown headed to Dhaka via any available transport – with some just walking in the monsoon rain.
At the ferry station here, 70km south of the capital, tens of thousands of workers waited hours for boats to take them to the city.
Garment worker Mohammad Masum, 25, said he left his village before dawn, walked more than 30km, and took rickshaws to get to the ferry port.
“Police stopped us at many checkpoints, and the ferry was packed.”
“It was a mad rush to get home when the lockdown was imposed, and now, we are in trouble again getting back to work,” said another worker, Jubayer Ahmad.
Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest garment exporter after China, and the industry has become the foundation of the economy for the country of 169 million.
Mohammad Hatem, vice-president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association, said up to US$3 billion (RM12.66 billion) worth of export orders are at risk if factories stay closed.
“The brands would have diverted their orders to other countries.” – AFP, July 31, 2021
