Garment Safety
EU Accord team arrives Monday for follow-up meeting
A five-member delegation of EU Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh arrives in Dhaka on Monday to hold a follow-up meeting with the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association regarding the platform’s action plan.
The delegation will hold the meeting to set the next course of action, including starting factory inspection and disbursement of fund, BGMEA vice-president Shahidullah Azim told New Age.
‘This is a follow-up meeting as the EU Accord had held its first meeting with the garment sector leaders on July 30,’ he added.
The delegation includes Accord executive director Sean Ansett, representative of H&M Fagerlin Jenny, representative of C&A Philip Chamberlin, representative of Devon Ham Caroleny Haycock and Rosey Hurst.
As many as 70 retailers and apparel brands from the EU on May 15 formed the AFBSB that announced on July 8 that they would inspect within nine months all Bangladeshi garment factories that supply products to the retailers and brands. The number of the signatories to the accord has now reached 86.
The move is a response to the collapse of Rana Plaza building in Dhaka in April which resulted in killing of over 1,100 people.
The BGMEA vice-president said that the Accord delegation would announce fund for the inspection and to improve safety system of Bangladesh garment industry.
‘The fund might be of around $200 million,’ he added.
The accord will inspect 1500 factories that supply products to the retailers and brands, he said.
In the meeting, the team is also likely to fix the date for inspection and appoint an auditor to start the inspection, Azim said.
-With New Age input
