Management of the Liberty Fashion Wears Limited, a forcibly shut Bangladeshi apparel maker has asked the Accord on Fire and Building Safety to withdraw unsafe tag as the factory building is termed safe by BUET engineers.

However, it also said that the factory is in operation but due to the Accords’ embargo on buyers not to buy products from the factory and it cannot produce apparel goods for the European brands.

Mozammel Huq, Chairman and Managing Director of Liberty Fashion Wears came up with the call at a press conference in Dhaka on Monday.

“Without any sensible reason and proper inspection, the Accord has served notice to its signatory brand, not to source goods from Liberty Fashion based on a baseless inspection by the Medway Consultancy Services (MCS),” Mozammel Huq.

In the report, Medway Consultancy Services (MCS) said that the building will collapse within 60 hours but it did not happen even in last five years it is good enough to run operation, said Mozammel.

In the last couple of years, I have incurred production losses worth Tk490 crore due to the unethical shut by the Accord’s executive Director Rob Wayss. So, I urged the Accord to withdraw its previous letter served to buyers, what termed the factory unsafe and not to buy products from us, said Mozammel.

“I want to run the factory and make goods for my buyers.”

What actually happened

After Rana Plaza incidence that killed over 1,135 workers in 2013, the Tesco, a buyer of the Liberty Fashion Wears hired Medway Consultancy Services (MCS) to assess the structural design of the building to be sure about the workplace safety.

In May 2013, the MCS conducted a visual and observational inspection and made a report identifying the building with “Red” mark stating that the building would collapse within 60 hours.

The aftermath of the report, the factory was declared unsafe for workers safety by the Accord.

Later, on basis of MCS report, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a platform of European Union apparel buyers to improve safety standard in the apparel sector, served letter to its signatory brands not to buy products from the factory terming it unsafe to workers safety.

What the BUET engineers found

The aftermath of the Accord’s call not to source products from the Liberty Fashion Wears, the management of the factory conducted an inspection by a team of engineers of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) found it safe.

“Being disheartened by Accord’s claim and MCS report, I have conducted inspecting spending an amount of Tk10 lakh by the BUET engineers, who did not found a sign of disaster or unsafe,” said Mozammel.

“While, I have got certification from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), which also termed the factory ‘safe’,” he added.

There is not but a financial crime behind the unethical and injustice to me. This is because of Rob Wayss racist attitude towards the factory, he claimed.