A four-member delegation of EU Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh arrives in Dhaka today on a three-day visit to chalk out their action plan for factory inspection and renovation in the readymade garment sector through discussion with the sector people and the government officials.
Seventy retailers and apparel brands from the EU on May 15 formed the AFBSB and announced its plan on July 8 that they would inspect within nine months all Bangladeshi garment factories that supply the retailers and brands.
The move is a response to the collapse of Rana Plaza building in Dhaka in April which resulted in over 1,100 deaths.
The companies including H&M, Carrefour, Marks & Spencer, Tommy Hilfiger, Primark and Mango agreed that they would take responsibility and immediate action wherever serious safety problems were found. They pledged to insure that sufficient funds were available to pay for renovations and other safety improvements.
The AFBSB was the culmination of previous negotiations and attempts made following the Garib & Garib fire in 2010 to set up a multi-stakeholder mechanism for fire and building safety.
The four delegates of the European consortium of 70 retailers and apparel brands — all of them are the steering committee members of EU Accord — will sit with the garment sector leaders tomorrow.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice-president Shahidullah Azim said the meeting with the delegation of EU Accord would be held at the BGMEA office at 1:00pm.
The EU Accord has already announced its plan and they are coming to discuss with the sector people aimed at setting an action plan to implement their pledge, he said adding that along with the BGMEA leaders, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Employers Federation leaders would attend the meeting.
After meeting with the sector leaders, the EU delegation will hold meetings with several ministries including labour and commerce ministry on July 31, a source said.
Bangladesh Employers Federation president Fazlul Hoque said a strong coordination between Bangladesh and the retailers groups was a must as the plan of the EU Accord would be implemented in the Bangladesh’s factories.
‘I hope the meetings will take pragmatic decisions which can really bring a positive change for the RMG sector,’ he said.
Fazlul also said that to make the initiatives effective the Accord needed to keep the government and RMG sector representatives in their steering committee as the consortium of EU retailers and apparel brands had to work in the Bangladesh garment factories.
‘We will extend all-out support to implement the Accord plan but EU Accord also needs to include the government and the BGMEA and the BKMEA in their steering committee to ensure the coordinated work,’ BKMEA vice-president Mohammed Hatem said.
He expected that not only fire and building safety, but also an ethical business practice would be improved through the Accord as the exporters were going to involve with a big platform of the international buyers directly.
After the announcement of the plan of the EU Accord, 17 North American retailers, including Walmart and Gap, on July 10 formed the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative undertaking a five-year plan, which sets aggressive timelines and accountability for inspections, training and worker empowerment.
Delegations from North American Alliance are supposed to come in Bangladesh to set their work plan next month.
-With New Age input
