The Rana Plaza collapse led to the agreement, which improved factory safety for workers. Despite a last-minute extension, its legacy may be in jeopardy.
In the wake of the eighth anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013, just-style continues to look at issues around the tragedy. Two initiatives were set up in the aftermath of the incident 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 Accord’s tenure comes to an end next month, and there are serious concerns for garment workers if another agreement is not signed soon.
The Rana Plaza disaster was a wake-up call to Bangladesh and the entire garment industry that building and worker safety should be a priority. Eight years on and the country has one of the safest and most transparent apparel industries thanks to the remediation work that ensued. But while much has been achieved, there remains no room for complacency.
For better or worse, Bangladesh as a sourcing hub has become the global bellwether for CSR issues in apparel supply chains.
More often than not Bangladesh is portrayed as a case study on poor working conditions. If international media wants to highlight safety, Bangladesh is their favourite punching bag. And, of course, for pollution, water wastage and so on, the spotlight is always put on Bangladesh.
I got thinking about a lot of these issues in recent weeks in the run up to the anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy. No surprise, the spotlight has been on Bangladesh once again, and I have seen many international commentators making all sorts of circumspections or throwing their views on the country. If one were to read everything they say, it is likely they would never purchase another garment from here.
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.