Bangladesh Accord celebrates third anniversary

On Sunday, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (Accord) celebrated its third anniversary, looking back on its accomplishments. And there are many, size for one: the agreement started on May 15, 2013 with just 19 brands and 2 unions and now boasts more than 210 company signatories; around 1,600 factories with about 2 million workers are covered by it.

From the start, the Accord has been an independent, legally binding agreement between brands and trade unions pledging to work towards a safe and healthy RMG industry in Bangladesh. “Our purpose is to enable a working environment in which no worker needs to fear fires, building collapses or other accidents that could be prevented with reasonable health and safety measures”, the Accord clearly states as its mission. Since the beginning, it has also been imperative to actively involve local partners like NGOs, trade unions and other valuable resources.

But there are more accomplishments, especially in terms of transparency: Each year, the Accord publishes its annual report that details its progress - goals that have been achieved and those that are still pending. Each month, progress factsheets detail the status of electrical, fire and structural remediation from the original inspections. On top of that, there are quarterly reports, advisory board meeting reports and others, press releases and a newsletter that detail day-to-day proceedings.

Transparency, safety and accountability have improved within the supply chain

In fact, just having a website that clearly states the objectives, signatories, contact persons and progress of the Accord with easy access to reports is a big step towards transparency and safety in the RMG supply chain. If we remember, back in 2013, just getting the names of factories producing garments for international buyers in Bangladesh seemed like a Herculean task. Though still not all brands and retailers are forthcoming with this information, at least they can expect to be asked for it by their peers and customers.

According to the Accord, “since November 2013, 1550 factories ... have been inspected for fire, electrical and structural safety and an additional 75 newly listed factories are included in the current, ongoing round of initial inspections. Approximately 60 percent of the safety hazards identified through the initial inspections have now been reported or verified as repaired.”

Not to forget the effort in escalating cases of factories where progress is too slow. “The Accord is committing an enormous amount of time, staff and resource to making sure remediation is completed and completed in a more timely manner”, confirms Brad Loewen, the Accord's chief safety inspector.

Last but not least, “functioning and capable” labour-management safety committee at the factory level is an important step when monitoring and maintaining safety compliance. While 65 factories have already participated in an initial pilot safety committee training programme that proved successful, it will now be implemented at a larger scale, ultimately covering all Accord factories.

“The pilot work done thus far makes us optimistic that safety committees will be developed which will be capable of and permitted to perform their safety maintenance, monitoring and educational functions. The training materials, methods and delivery systems have been well-received, are practical and relevant and can be implemented on a large scale basis”, states Rob Wayss, the Accord's executive director.

Images: Bangladeshaccord.org