Accord publishes latest progress report

Three years after the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka that served as a wake-up call to the international garment industry, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh has posted its latest update about progress in terms of factory inspections.

According to the April 2016 factsheet, 1,600 factories have been inspected, 1,450 corrective action plans prepared and 3,000 follow-up inspections performed. Till date, 217 companies have signed the Accord.

The report states further that 56 percent of all identified safety issues and 75 percent of all electrical safety issues have been reported or verified as corrected; seven factories have completed all remediation from the initial inspections (see chart).

In terms of safety committees, 50 factories have participated in the pilot program of the Accord safety committee, and its trainers held 125 training sessions.

"3 years after Rana Plaza, all Accord-listed factories have been inspected, more than 50 percent of all safety hazards identified in our initial inspections have been corrected, and seven factories have remediated all items from the initial inspections. To date, 23 factories that have been unwilling to correct safety hazards have become ineligible to do business with Accord signatory companies. Labour-management safety committees are being trained and supported to have factory level mechanisms in place to monitor safety on a day-to-day basis", sums up an Accord statement of 23rd April.

Until tomorrow, 29th April, the Accord steering committee is coming together in Dhaka for its weeklong quarterly meeting. Discussions and consultations with in-country stakeholders like the ministry of labour, the BGMEA, trade unions, the ILO, the Accord's advisory board and bi-lateral country missions supporting compliance and sustainability in the Bangladesh RMG sector are also taking place.

Photo: Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh