The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the RMG Sustainability Council reached a sudden loggerhead over the monitoring of non-occupational safety and health complaints in the country鈥檚 readymade garment sector.
In a statement on Sunday, clarifying its position, the BGMEA urged its member factories not to respond to any communications, letters, or circulars from the RSC related to the non-OSH complaints mechanism.
The odds erupted following a letter from the RSC managing director, Abdul Haque, to the RMG factories recently, stating that it would expand its complaints mechanism beyond OSH to cover a wide range of workplace-related issues, especially labour rights, in two phases.
The expanded Comprehensive Complaints Mechanism of the RSC would cover unfair employment contracts and separation, wages, benefits, and leave, freedom of association and collective bargaining, child labour, forced labour, and discrimination
Abdul Haque also stated that the decision to expand the mechanism was approved at the board meeting on October 20, and the first phase, lasting six months from the starting date of November 16, would involve 58 global brands and 1,185 factories.
Meanwhile, the BGMEA on Sunday said that the complaint mechanism for non-OSH was currently under review, and BGMEA Management was in close communication with the RSC to clarify its position through constructive dialogue.
鈥楢 final position on this issue would be communicated upon discussion in the upcoming RSC Board Meeting,鈥� the statement added, urging the members to not to respond to any communications, letters, or circulars from the RSC related to the non-OSH complaints mechanism till then.
The BGMEA said the instruction was necessary to ensure a coordinated approach in line with its policies, emphasising that any system affecting factory operations must be developed through proper consultation with industry stakeholders.
The RSC, established in 2020 as the successor to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, was originally tasked with monitoring structural, fire and electrical safety across the RMG industry.
The Accord itself was created after the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 to address critical safety gaps.
The RSC鈥檚 governing board includes equal representation from international brands, global and national trade unions, and local industry groups.
The RSC鈥檚 letter to the RMG factories said that the expansion followed a successful pilot on non-OSH complaints and was endorsed by the board鈥檚 tripartite structure.
However, several industry leaders declined the claim.
Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and a board member of the RSC, said he attended the board meeting for several hours and that no such agreement was reached during that time.
He argued that issues such as wages and trade-union matters fall outside the RSC鈥檚 jurisdiction and should not be incorporated without the industry鈥檚 consent.
鈥楻SC鈥檚 jurisdiction does not cover non-OSH related issues and they won鈥檛 be allowed to do the same,鈥� he said.
Mohiuddin Rubel, former director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, expressed hope that a positive solution would be reached.
鈥楢t the upcoming board meeting, both parties would reach a comfortable solution by serving the interests of both the entrepreneurs and labourers,鈥� he added.聽
Industry representatives also said that expanding monitoring would add financial and administrative burdens, while they were unsure whether the RSC would expand its monitoring role, as factories were already struggling due to low purchase prices offered by global buyers.