Representatives of the North American Alliance for Bangladesh Workers Safety Initiative on Monday said they would inspect the garment factories in Bangladesh in a transparent way to ensure sustainable change in the garment sector.
The members of the Alliance have submitted their list of factories that they contract with in Bangladesh and shared that information with the Fair Factories Clearinghouse, Jeffrey Krilla, the president and chief executive officer of the Alliance said at a media briefing after the meeting with the apparel sector leaders at the BGMEA office.
‘We will be sharing this information with the government of Bangladesh,’ he said.
Jeffrey said that the alliance will introduce latest technology in Bangladesh during the garment factory inspection.
‘We support democratically elected workers participation committee in the garment factories with an aim to raise the voice of the workers on the safety issues,’ he said.
‘To improve workers’ empowerment, the Alliance has identified innovative technology solutions that will allow workers anonymously to report their safety concerns,’ Jeffrey said.
The Alliance CEO said that they will work in a collaborate process with the National Action of Plan.
Chair of the Alliance Ellen Tauscher said that they were going to materially change the life of workers and the Alliance want to share their responsibility with all the partners and stakeholders.
There was no simple remedy to solve the problems facing Bangladeshi garment factories and so the Alliance emphasized and promoted collaboration among all stakeholders, especially with the government and civil society in Bangladesh, she said.
‘We have prepared a common set of fire and building safety standards for the garment sector in Bangladesh which line up with the Bangladesh National Building Code and also support the National Tripartite Plan of Action,’ Ellen said.
She once again said that the 500 factories that work with the Alliance would be inspected by July next year and ‘our goal is to set a common standard with the ILO, the Accord, the BGMEA, the BKMEA and BUET that will ultimately result in making this factories safer’.
‘We want a meaningful change in Bangladeshi garment sector,’ Ellen added.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Atiqul Islam said that the Alliance showed a very positive approach in the meeting and made commitment to stay with Bangladeshi garment sector for long to ensure sustainable business.
On Sunday, a 12-member delegation including Wesley Wilson, senior director for ethical sourcing of Walmart, Jan Saumweber, senior vice-president of global Walmart team, Bobbi Silten, Alliance board member and president of Gap Foundation, Daniel Duty, vice-president (global affairs) of Target, Jeff Krilla, executive director of Alliance and James Moriarty, former U.S. ambassador to Bangladesh arrived in Dhaka and held a board meeting of the Alliance at Hotel Radisson in the city.
On that day, the Alliance delegation held separate meetings with commerce
minister GM Quader and home minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir and other government officials.
After the Rana Plaza disaster, which killed 1,131 workers, 17 North American retailers, including Walmart and Gap, on July 10 formed the Alliance for Bangladesh Workers Safety Initiative undertaking a five-year plan.
Now the number of signatories has reached 20, which sets aggressive timelines and accountability for inspections, training and worker empowerment.
The Alliance promised $100 million in low-cost capital funding to improve fire and structural safety in Bangladeshi factories.
-With New Age input
