Garment workers have continued to manufacture apparel items for Western buyers despite growing fears of coronavirus contagion in the factories given the close proximity of the workstations.

"We are working in the factories despite the coronavirus fear as our management gave us safety gears," said Abu Jafar, a sewing operator of a Savar-based sweater factory yesterday.

Jafar's factory has distributed masks and installed hand washing facility in the factory and ensured regular cleaning of factory floors as safety measures.

 The management should have put in place virus testing kits so that the workers can feel safer in such a critical moment, Jafar told The Daily Star by phone.

 Monirul Islam, a production supervisor of an export-oriented garment factory in Savar, said his factory management also took proper steps for workers' safety.

 "It is mandatory to wash hands with hand sanitisers inside the factory," Islam told The Daily Star.

 Titas Roy, a finishing operator of another garment factory in Ashulia, said his factory owners took some safety initiatives to protect them from the virus.

 "The management  provided us masks and put in place hand washing system with antiseptic," he added.

 Zinnah Begum, a cutting operator of a Savar-based garment factory, echoed the views of her co-workers.

They are a few of the 4.1 million workers employed in some 3,500 large, medium and small garment factories in Bangladesh.

Some 60 per cent garment factories are located in Gazipur, Maona, Savar, Tongi, Ashulia and Mirpur, while the rest are in Narsingdi, Narayanganj and Chattogram.

The member factories of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) have been asked to take adequate safety measures so that no worker is infected with the virus, its President Rubana Huq told The Daily Star over phone on Monday.

In Chattogram, thousands of workers from different factories, including garment in the Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ), were seen coming out of the industrial enclave yesterday after their day's work.

Many of them were seen wearing masks but many others were not.

Anxiety also gripped many of these workers over the coronavirus as they have to work very close to each other on a floor and they have to reach home by public transport or vehicles hired by the factories.

Though the factories have taken some precautionary steps against the spread of the virus, including washing hands, many workers found them inadequate.

About two lakh workers are working in 158 factories, including 30 garment factories in the EPZ.

The CEPZ has directed all the factories to take measures for hand washing and cleanliness and it is monitoring it, said Md Khurshid Alam, general manager of the zone.

Workers alleged that some of the factories took some precautionary measures one or two weeks back, while many implemented it only two or three days earlier. A sewing operator of KSL, one of the units of Youngone Group, said the factory authority started hand washing for workers only on Monday and they are yet to get hand sanitisers.

Shahena Akhter, worker of another garment factory, has to travel to and from her residence on Akmal Ali Road area, which is about 4 kilometres away from the EPZ, by crowded public bus.

"It really scares me whether I would be touched by any infected person or not during my daily commute," said Shahena, adding that the factories should be closed like all the public and private offices as per a government order.

As the European buyers asked some factories to stop shipment or suspend fabric and cutting section or cancel orders, the CEPZ has asked the factories to remain closed if they have no other alternative, Alam said.

But some factories still want to continue production as they have not got such message from buyers and they would wait for further instruction from the government.

About 350 garment factories, including the ones in the CEPZ, are operating in different parts of the port city.

Many workers also expressed uncertainty about their jobs if the factories are closed.

"We want closure of the factories in the current situation. But at the same time, we are afraid that we may lose our jobs in case of factory shutdown since most factories have been going through hardship for the last few months," said Salma Begum, a sewing operator of a garment factory on Bayezid area.

All of these 350 factories are compliant and have enough washing and bathroom facilities, said BGMEA First Vice President MA Salam.

"We started mandatory hand washing of the workers three weeks ago. Each factory has at least one doctor of its own and there is regular check-up of the physical condition of the workers, while a three-member medical team of the BGMEA Hospital is monitoring it," he said.

However, work order cancellations by international retailers due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic have cost Bangladesh's garment sector $2.25 billion in revenues as of yesterday, exporters said. 

 "The situation is worsening. Letters requesting the termination of previously placed orders are coming to us every day," Huq said. 

 Although buyers are either cancelling or delaying their work orders on a daily basis, workers' wages must be paid on time, she said. 

 When asked whether factories should be shut down amid the pandemic, Huq said the BGMEA has advised member factories to make the decision at their own discretion.

 "We don't have the authority to order any closures. That right is reserved for the government," she added. 

 KI Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association, in a statement, urged Huq to keep open production units with adequate protective measures for workers. 

 Hossain yesterday sent two letters to Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming and Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das, urging them for deferring import letters of credit (LC) payments by their respective country's textile and apparel suppliers to their Bangladeshi partners until coronavirus subsides.  

 Bangladeshi fabrics and yarn importers will not be able to remain competitive if they are put under pressure for LC payments during this critical time, he said.

 The country imports $8 billion worth of textile and garment raw materials from China and $4.6 billion from India. "So, we need their help now," Hossain added.

 Amirul Haque Amin, president of the National Garment Workers Federation, urged the owners to shut down factories after giving wages and other allowances to workers.

 Amin suggested owners take more safety measures for the workers even while they stay at home. The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) has sought government's bailout package to save the industries from the fallout of coronavirus.  

 It submitted letters to the principal secretary to the prime minister, the finance minister and the energy adviser to the prime minister three days ago seeking the bailout package, according to Monsoor Ahmed, secretary of the BTMA.

The association sought policy support, subsidy in energy price and banking support from the government.

 With the work order cancellation by the international retailers and brands, the local garment manufacturers are also cancelling purchasing fabrics and yarn from local spinners and weavers. "It is like a chain effect." 

 The textile millers and spinners have lost more than Tk 9,000 crore so far due to the coronavirus pandemic, he said. The management of the factory where Jafar works said that it might shut down production up to April 4 from Wednesday due to the coronavirus.

"But it is not confirmed yet. It would be better if the management pays a partial amount of the wages so that we can spend during this time," said Jafar, who has been working as a garment worker for the last seven years.