BGMEA, Brac University to develop database of apparel workers

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and The Brac University have teamed up for developing a database of apparel workers.

To this end, the two entities inked a letter of intent at the BGMEA PR and Media office in Gulshan in the capital, said a press release.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan and Brac University Vice-Chancellor Vincent Chang were present, among others at the signing event.

“We believe that the MoU signing reflects the commitment of BGMEA for a sustainable RMG industry in Bangladesh and BGMEA’s vision for a healthy industrial ecosystem”, Faruque Hassan said.

“The digital repository will help to clarify misconceptions about the industry through empirical evidence” he added.

“Brac University is delighted to be a part of such industry-academia partnership and expected to play a vital role in bringing research integrity through this collaboration,” Vincent Chang said.

The country’s RMG sector has a history of almost four glorious decades, but comprehensive information on its employed workers is yet to bring together, the BGMEA said.

Being a labour-intensive industry and having the importance of the labour force to ensure sustainable growth, it is essential to have an accurate, complete and credible data repository of the entire workforce of the RMG industry, it believes.

Realizing the ground reality, the BGMEA and BracU have stepped to collaborate on this joint project. They will develop and manage a digital repository, or repo, a central place in which an aggregation of data is kept and maintained in an organised way.

The repo can be utilised to design significant interventions and to formulate policies for the workers’ well-being, the release said.