Clothing retailers, unions extend Bangladesh workers’ safety deal

Major global apparel brands and unions reached a new agreement to expand workers’ safety for two years, which subjects retailers to legal actions if their factories fail to meet labour safety standards.

Negotiations between a representative of international textile retailers and the global trade union signatories to the former Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh have resulted in an agreement that continues legally binding commitments to workplace safety in Bangladesh and promises to expand the programme to other countries, Accord said in a statement on Wednesday.

The new agreement called the ‘International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry’ takes effect on September 1, 2021, it added.

Like its predecessor agreement, this is a legally binding agreement between companies and trade unions to make RMG and textile factories safe, said the statement. 

The agreement is already being implemented in Bangladesh by the independent national tri-partite RMG Sustainability Council (RSC), consisting of brands, unions, and industry. 

Key new features of the International Accord include a commitment to focus on the health and safety programme in Bangladesh and build a credible industry-wide compliance and accountability mechanism, expanding the work of the International Accord based on feasibility studies.

It also will focus on addressing human rights due diligence and streamlining the arbitration process to enforce Accord’s terms.  

Retail giants like H&M, Inditex, Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo, Hugo Boss, and adidas have also signed up for the extension.  

Meanwhile, the signatory companies shall assume responsibility for funding the activities of the programme. Each company will contribute to funding under a formula to be fixed by the steering committee. The maximum contribution will be $3,50,000 per year for each year of the term of the agreement.

It’s not for Bangladesh: BGMEA

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said the Accord agreement extension is unrelated to Bangladesh’s apparel sector.  

 “The extension of Accord is a new one titled Accord International, and the agreement between buyers and trade unions is unrelated to Bangladesh RMG sector,” BGMEA President Faruque Hassan told The Business Post. 

“I think it is an attempt to enter the Accord activities to other countries from where global buyers purchase products. However, we will be able to talk in detail after reviewing the copy of the agreement,” he added.         

The BGMA president said the new agreement would not influence the activities of the RMG Sustainability Council. 

“The agreement is signed with the trade union and global apparel buyers. There are certain conditions in the agreement, which focused on expansion in other countries. It will not hurt the activities of RSC,” Miran Ali, vice president, BGMEA, who is dealing with the issue, told The Business Post. 

RSC is an independent body and it will monitor the progress and safety standards done with the help of Accord and manufacturers, said Miran, also Managing Director of Misami Garments Ltd.

In June 2020, Bangladeshi apparel manufacturers, global brands, and unions launched RSC to sustain workplace safety and look into the activities after the expiry of Accord Bangladesh in May of the same year.  

Accord was formed after the collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013 to improve factory safety standards in the country’s apparel sector with the help of global buyers and retailers.