DHAKA, Bangladesh: Bangladesh has reopened hundreds of its garment factories this week after nearly one month of closures to fight the coronavirus pandemic in a move critics say risks igniting a sharp increase in infections among workers.
An industry group said about 850 factories are operating with fewer workers than usual and following safety guidelines. Labor advocates say not enough is being done to ensure safety for the 4 million workers in Bangladesh’s roughly 4,000 garment factories.
The number of factories that have reopened is in dispute. Activists and analysts said Friday about 2,000 garment factories have restarted production.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association says only 850 factories had opened by Thursday, using a limited number of workers who live nearby.
“The global brands are happy to see the factories opening up as otherwise a whole season would have been lost,” Mohammad Abdur Razzak, secretary of the industry group, said in an email.
Razzak said the factories were complying with health guidelines and that inspections found that only four of 105 visited were not meeting standards.
As is true elsewhere workers and their employers are torn between suffering still more loss of income by staying closed and risking a surge in infections if they stop taking precautions too soon.
The resumption of manufacturing followed a government decision to allow companies to reopen that was made under heavy pressure from businesses. Factories went ahead, fearing they might lose business to competitors in Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka and India.
A senior government health official in a major industrial zone near Dhaka urged factories to close down again.
Bangladesh has confirmed 7,667 people infected with coronavirus and 168 deaths since its first case was reported on March 8. About 500 new cases are being confirmed daily in the nation of 160 million people, which has only 25 testing facilities and a fragile health care system.
Thousands of workers reportedly are rushing back to reclaim their jobs in the capital, Dhaka and nearby industrial districts, alarming labor advocates.
“Who will take the responsibility if hundreds of workers become ill?” said Kalpona Akter, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity.
Ahsan H. Mansur, executive director of the local think tank Policy Research Institute, said at least another week should have been allowed to better prepare for reopening.
“The factories have resumed operations without giving it much thought,” he said. “There is a huge risk of virus transmission among workers.”
Bangladeshi factories’ reopening risks spike in virus case
https://arab.news/9pkmn
Bangladeshi factories’ reopening risks spike in virus case
- Activists and analysts say about 2,000 garment factories have restarted production
- Bangladesh has confirmed 7,667 people infected with coronavirus and 168 deaths
Ratcliffe says he is sorry his UK ‘colonized by immigrants’ remark offended some
- His comments were condemned by politicians, campaigners and by fan groups at Manchester United
- Muslim Supporters Club said the term “colonized” was frequently used by far-right activists to frame migrants as invaders
LONDON: British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe said on Thursday he was sorry he had offended some people by saying the country had been “colonized by immigrants,” after Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined a chorus of criticism over the remarks.
Ratcliffe, one of Britain’s most successful businessmen, responded to the outcry with a statement saying it was important to raise the issue of immigration, but that he regretted his “choice of language” had caused concern.
The founder of chemicals giant INEOS, and owner of nearly a third of Manchester United, had told Sky News that high migration and people living on benefits were damaging the economy.
Finance minister: Comments were “disgusting”
“You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. I mean, the UK has been colonized — it’s costing too much money,” Ratcliffe said in the interview aired on Wednesday.
“The UK has been colonized by immigrants, really, hasn’t it?” he added.
Starmer said the remarks were wrong and would play into the hands of those who wanted to divide the country. Finance minister Rachel Reeves said the comments were “unacceptable” and “disgusting.”
On Thursday, INEOS issued a statement from Ratcliffe in response to “reporting of his comments.”
“I am sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe and caused concern but it is important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth,” he said.
He said he wanted to stress that governments must manage migration alongside investment in skills, industry and jobs to ensure long-term prosperity is shared by everyone, and that it was “critical that we maintain an open debate on the challenges facing the UK.”
Starmer’s spokesperson said it was right for him to apologize. Asked if an apology about offense caused rather than the comments themselves were enough, the spokesperson said questions on the detail of the apology were for Ratcliffe.
Manchester United fans flag up use of “colonized”
His comments were condemned by politicians, campaigners and by fan groups at Manchester United, including its Muslim Supporters Club who said the term “colonized” was frequently used by far-right activists to frame migrants as invaders.
“Public discourse shapes public behavior,” the group said. “When influential figures adopt language that mirrors extremist talking points, it risks legitimising prejudice and deepening division.”
Others noted that the Manchester United first team was largely made up of international players and staff, and questioned whether Ratcliffe should be commenting on British politics when he had moved to the tax haven Monaco.
Before Ratcliffe’s response, The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said Ratcliffe’s comments were inflammatory and should be withdrawn.
Immigration debate has intensified
Immigration has consistently been among the top voter concerns in Britain according to opinion polls, and has helped fuel the rise of Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist party Reform UK.
Rhetoric around immigration has hardened in recent years and a wave of protests broke out last summer outside hotels housing asylum seekers. Widespread rioting also occurred in 2024, sparked by false information circulating online that a teenager who killed three young girls was an Islamist migrant.
Sky said Ratcliffe had cited incorrect figures to back up his argument. He said the population had risen from 58 million to 70 million people since 2020. The Office for National Statistics estimates the UK population was 67 million in mid-2020 and 69 million in mid-2024.
The population was around 59 million in 2000. Ratcliffe and his office did not immediately respond to Reuters questions about the figures he used.
Farage responded to the comments by saying that Britain had undergone mass immigration that had changed the character of many areas in the country. “Labour may try to ignore that but Reform won’t,” he said.
