Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) announced the decision yesterday while Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) took the decision recently, also asking the factory owners to arrange emergency exit immediately.

For violation of the fire-safety precautions by their existing and potential new members, the owners would have to pay the penalty that includes fines up to Tk 50,000 and expulsion from the associations as an extreme action.

The BGMEA decided to visit their member-factories regularly to ensure that proper fire-safety measures are in place in the factories across the country.

Besides, the BKMEA has decided to restrict the process of giving its membership to the industries if adequate fire-extinguishing measures were not available.

BGMEA President Tipu Munshi presided over the board meeting at its office on Monday night.

The decision came after a devastating fire in a garment factory in Chittagong.

The BGMEA at its meeting decided that each factory would have to construct two stairs and keep open during the working time. "If BGMEA vigilance team found any gate of a factory closed, they would fine that factory Tk 10, 000 for the first time while Tk 50, 000 for second time, and cancel the membership for the third time," says the decision.

The BGMEA leadership gave 45 days for constructing two-way exits (stairs) for the factories for those who don't have that. After the deadline, the association will stop giving a delinquent unit any kind of service.

On the other hand, in a board meeting recently, BKMEA also formed a three-member committee to recommend actions in the event of any worker was burnt in fire incident at the knit factories.