INCLUSION IN ADVISORY BODY
BGMEA opposes EU Accord’s proposal
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has opposed the EU Accord’s proposal of inclusion of a BGMEA representative in its advisory committee and demanded that the trade body be included in the steering committee of the platform of EU retailers and buyers. Officials of EU Accord on Tuesday in a meeting in the city proposed the BGMEA to include a representative in the advisory committee which will be formed comprising the representatives of NGOs, factory owners and labour leaders.
Brad Loewen, the chief safety inspector, and Rob Wayss, the executive director of Bangladesh operations of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, and BGMEA vice-president Shahidullah Azim were present, among others, at the meeting.
‘The Accord proposed the BGMEA to give a name from the trade body for inclusion in the advisory committee of The Accord but we requested them to include the BGMEA representative in the steering committee,’ Shahidullah Azim told New Age on Wednesday.
He, however, said, ‘Even without inclusion in any committee, the BGMEA will extend all-out support to the
EU Accord to implement their plan on Fire and Building Safety.’
Azim said, ‘The status of the BGMEA president does not go with the
standard of the advisory committee of the EU Accord as it is a non-functional committee.’
He also said that the advisory committee had no option to make any decision and so, as a big stakeholder, the BGMEA requested them to include the BGMEA president in the steering committee to ensure well coordination.
Roy Ramesh Chandra, the steering committee member of the EU Accord, said he heard that the BGMEA regretted the Accord’s proposal of inclusion in the advisory committee and demanded for inclusion in the steering committee.
‘The EU Accord is a global initiative of buyers, brands and trade unions to make the readymade garment factories safer and so any third party is not eligible in its steering committee,’ he said.
After the Rana Plaza building collapse at Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka on April 24 that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garment workers, a consortium of retailers and apparel brands from the EU on May 15 had formed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and announced its action plan on July 8.
On the other hand, 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.
The Alliance had included the BGMEA president in its nine-member steering committee.
Recently, Accord published a list of around 1,600 factories while Alliance a list of around 620 apparel units for inspection.
-With New Age input
