Unions and labour rights groups want brands and retailers to sign a new legally binding safety agreement
More calls have come urging global fashion brands and retailers to commit to a new binding safety agreement to continue the work of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.
The groundbreaking legally-binding agreement came into force on 15 May 2013 – and expires on 31 May, two weeks from now. Over the course of eight years, the programme has made 1,600 factories safer for over two million garment workers.
Unions and labour rights organisations want the 200 brands and retailers that are current signatories of the Accord to sign a new legally binding safety agreement to meet supply chain due diligence obligations that will soon be mandatory on all brands operating in the EU.
Mainstreaming human rights in business to protect workers’ rights
A study led by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) revealed that more than 3,50,000 workers in the RMG sector have lost their jobs during Covid-19 pandemic while most of the workers have been laid off without proper compensation. A staggering official record is of 56372 workers being laid off. The report also finds that the high rate of retrenchment was occurred in small factories amounting to over 10% of total work force.
According to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), at least 70,000 workers have been terminated in garment factories since April 2020. As per Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation, 150,000 workers have already lost their jobs and termination occurs every day. The Penn State Center for Global Workers Rights has found that more than a million Bangladeshi apparel workers got laid off while 72.4% of them were sent home without pay.
The Accord has made âphenomenal changeâ on the ground, inspecting over 1,600 factories, says the BGIWF
In the aftermath of the Bangladesh Rana Plaza tragedy in 2013, two initiatives were set up to oversee the country s clothing factories for fire, electrical and structural issues – the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety. The Alliance s tenure comes to an end next month, and there are serious concerns for garment workers if another agreement is not signed soon.
Under the oversight of the Accord and Alliance, Bangladesh now has one of the safest and most transparent ready-made garment (RMG) industries in the world. But that could now under threat.
The Accord has made âphenomenal changeâ on the ground, inspecting over 1,600 factories, says the BGIWF
In the aftermath of the Bangladesh Rana Plaza tragedy in 2013, two initiatives were set up to oversee the country s clothing factories for fire, electrical and structural issues – the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety. The Alliance s tenure comes to an end next month, and there are serious concerns for garment workers if another agreement is not signed soon.
Under the oversight of the Accord and Alliance, Bangladesh now has one of the safest and most transparent ready-made garment (RMG) industries in the world. But that could now under threat.
Eight years on from factory collapse garment workers are again at risk, unions warn telegraph.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from telegraph.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.