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Bangladesh Accord two years on: 'good progress, more needs to be done'

By Simone Preuss

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Fashion

Two years ago, in May 2013, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was founded. Membership trickled in at first but after a few big (European) brands took the plunge, others followed suit. Today, the Accord includes more than 200 company signatories and over 1500 factories. It is a five-year, legally binding agreement between brands and trade unions to "enable a safe working environment in the Bangladesh garment industry".

One of its major achievements is an independent inspections program enabled by the brands that involves workers and trade unions as well. To date, all 1500-plus factories covered under the Accord have been inspected for fire, electrical and structural safety and many safety issues have been identified. “Fixing all these hazards is a massive amount of work for the RMG industry, but safety remediation work at the inspected factories is underway," said Brad Loewen, the Accord's chief safety inspector.

Factory inspections have already helped save lives

Especially faulty wiring and exposed electrical lines, aided by a humid climate, posed a threat in many factories, and fires in factories used to be frequent occurrences. "There has been especially good progress on electrical remediation which is positive as most factory fires are caused by electrical hazards. As a result, we have helped prevent fires in factories covered by the Accord,” reported Loewen.

The Accord has also put together a reporting system of transparent publications of all inspection reports, which can be accessed online. Corrective action plans are the results of the inspection reports. To ensure that lack of funds should not come in the way of effective remediation, a commitment has been given by the industry to financially supporting remediation wherever necessary.

On the worker level, the Accord has invested in an extensive training and empowerment program. In addition, health and safety committees have been installed in all Accord factories.

"Good progress has been made, more needs to be done," an Accord statement sums up the previous two years. The time remaining will pass soon and all entities involved will need to make sure that the Accord's efforts will last beyond the stipulated five years.

"In the three remaining years of the Accord we will work with our signatories and suppliers to complete the remediation at all factories and ensure that a functioning safety and health committee capable of maintaining and monitoring safety issues on a day-to day basis is in place at every Accord listed factory. This requires a concerted effort from the factories with support from the Accord signatory companies and Accord union colleagues. The Accord team stands ready to support all parties if we hit obstacles in this road ahead,” confirmed the Accord's executive director Rob Wayss.

Bangladesh Accord