The contribution of readymade garment (RMG) industry is immense behind the rapid development of some countries with emerging economies. This industry is empowering these countries to provide employment opportunities for millions of people. However, the health as well as safety issues of the workers in this industry are often ignored, particularly in these developing countries. In recent times, because of the several undesirable and obnoxious conditions that exist in their working environments, they are vulnerable to various health related problems which are increasing at a staggering rate. The main purpose of this paper is to assess and prioritize the major health related problems faced by these garment workers in these countries where the economy is flourishing. In addition, the main hazards responsible for these health perils are also quantified. Data were collected from three different garment factories situated in different locations of Bangladesh. Thirty workers from each factory rated the frequency and severity of 14 health related issues. The health risks were then assessed and prioritized through risk priority number (RPN). Afterwards, three experts provided their opinion on the main hazards prevalent in the workplace of almost every garment factory in this country. These hazards were grouped into four main classes which are: 1) Physical 2) Ergonomic 3) Chemical and 4) Psychological hazards. The main classes were later divided into sub classes also. Best-worst method (BWM) was then applied to analyze these hazards by assessing their relative weights depending on the experts’ judgement. The results showed that the health issues faced by the workers in three different garment factories varied to some extent. The results obtained from the experts’ opinion indicated that physical hazards in the workplace are the most detrimental ones whereas the chemical hazards were the least harmful.

Findings primarily drawn from literature review and interviews with professional resource persons suggest that although the RMG industry of Bangladesh has made substantial progress in correcting structural risks within factory buildings, fire still remains an unresolved issue posing unceasing threat to safety. These findings are significant for all stakeholders within the global supply chain network of Bangladesh, concerned with improving sustainability of the RMG industry and seeking to outline the responsibilities for each group of actors towards preventing building disasters. Both Tazreen Fashion fire incident and the Rana Plaza building collapse served as ‘critical junctures’ in rapid transfer of physical technology to enhance structural safety and streamline production planning within the RMG manufacturing factories within Bangladesh. However, the transfer of social technology within the supply chain network of a developing nation in areas such as development of organisational safety culture or promoting workplace ethics, requires long-term planning and prolonged practices. The paper thus concludes that in developing countries, transfer of physical technology is more readily achievable than the adoption of social technology.