The government is determined to prevent accidents and ensure a safe working environment in factories, industries and commercial establishments, Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman said Wednesday.
"Seventeen institutions scored below 25 percent in the specified criteria; they will get three months to improve their overall situation," he said at the end of the second meeting of the national committee for preventing accidents and ensuring a safe working environment in commercial establishments.
"If there is no certain improvement within this time, these companies will be sealed off," he told the meeting held at the secretariat.
"Two hundred and six companies scoring 50 percent of the criteria will get six months to improve their overall situation," the adviser added. "Action will be taken against industrial establishments failing to improve their working environment within the specified time."
All inspected industrial establishments will be notified of their existing defects and instructed to correct them within a specified period.
Also, all concerned authorities, divisional commissioners/deputy commissioners/upazila nirbahi officers, local public representatives and concerned associations will be informed about the inspection reports and instructions.
Salman said 5,206 establishments of nearly half a million industrial establishments were visited under the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority's supervision and through the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments.
"We plan to inspect another 10,000 factories," he added.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam, Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Tapas, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Md Atiqul Islam and State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Mannujan Sufian were present in the meeting which also discussed turning the Department of Inspection of Factories and Establishments into an authority by increasing its workforce and jurisdiction.
Read more: Occupational safety, health of all workers must be a national priority: ILO