Rmg Factory Inspection
American, European retailers agree on common standards
EU Accord, North American Alliance and National Tripartite Committee, the three initiatives to ensure fire and building safety in the readymade garment sector in Bangladesh, on Thursday signed an agreement on common standards for the safety assessment in the garment factories. After completing some minor modifications in the inspection standards, the representatives of EU Accord and North American Alliance agreed on the standards formally at a meeting in the labour ministry, the labour secretary Mikail Shipar told New Age.
‘Now there is no barrier to starting safety inspection by the Accord and the Alliance in the garment factories and we have urged them to begin their inspection programmes within a short time as the assessment tools have been finalised,’ he said.
The North American and European retailers on Wednesday announced that they agreed on the fire and structural inspection standards for thousands of garment factories in Bangladesh for improving the workplace safety, said a news release of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.
The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, comprising 26 American retailers, and the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh which includes more than 100 European members said that the standards would be tougher than the previous standards used by many individual retailers and the government.
‘Earlier this month in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the International Labour Organisation and technical experts from Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, Accord on Fire and Building Safety, and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology came to an agreement on a common, minimum criterion for fire and structural inspection safety standards, pending a few final modifications,’ the release said.
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and International Labour Organisation also agreed on terms, said the release.
Accord’s, whose members include H&M, Marks & Spencer and Carrefour, chief safety inspector Brad Loewen said that the meeting between the parties was very effective, reports the New York Times.
‘These standards are very robust, but also reasonable and will make a big difference in the safety of garment factories in Bangladesh,’ Brad told the NYT.
He said the new standards required sprinkler systems in all garment buildings at least 28 metres, or 92 feet, tall — essentially seven or eight stories.
He also said the standards required fire doors between exit stairways and the production and storage areas. In addition, the requirements for fire alarms will be far more uniform and stringent.
Jeffrey Krilla, president of Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which includes Walmart, Gap, Kohl’s and Target, praised the new standards, saying they were based largely on a proposal his alliance put forward.
‘Having harmonised standards is very important. The standards we’ve
reached are above the national building and safety standards that Bangladesh has,’ Jeffery told the NYT.
The two groups were formed after the Rana Plaza building collapse on April 24, in which more than 1,100 workers died. After that disaster, labour and consumer groups and many political leaders put intense pressure on European and American retailers to do more to assure factory safety in Bangladesh.
The members of the European-dominated accord have released the names of more than 1,600 Bangladeshi apparel factories that its members use and the American-led alliance has disclosed the names of 686 factories there for inspection.
The two sides said there was overlap of at least 300 factories used by their members. Officials involved in the talks said it would be maddening for Bangladeshi factory owners if they had to deal with two different standards for fire and building safety.
On Monday, tensions emerged between the two groups after an official from one of the accord’s members voiced fears that the European-led group’s binding commitment to help pay for needed safety upgrades would enable American retailers to avoid helping pay for improvements, reports the NYT.
Jeffery said freeloading was out of the question, noting that the alliance’s members planned to provide up to $100 million in low-cost loans to help Bangladesh factory owners finance safety improvements when violations are found.
-With New Age input
