Bangladesh RMG
IndustriALL appoints officials to ensure safety
The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh has appointed Brad Loewen, an administrator of Canadian City of Winnipeg, as the chief safety inspector as part of its aims to deliver a safer working environment for garment workers in Bangladesh. Sean Ansett, the Accord’s interim executive director, announced the appointments of Brad Loewen as the chief safety inspector, Alan Roberts as the executive director of international operations, and Rob Wayss as the executive director of Bangladesh operations, IndustriALL Global Union said in a statement Friday.
All three appointees would start work within the next seven weeks, the statement said.
“The quality of candidates has meant that we have been able to bring an incredible depth of experience to these key roles. The appointments provide the Accord with strong leadership to move forward quickly on the vital work of factory inspections and remediation,” Ansett said in the statement.
Under his experienced leadership, the Accord would establish and apply safety standards to all factories that supply to Accord member brands, the statement added.
It also said Alan Roberts would take up an international role, setting up the head office, raising funds and enlisting new signatories, and would be the first point of contact for the Accord.
Rob Wayss would be in Bangladesh and liaise closely with local actors, including the government and employers’ organisations, whose cooperation is essential to the Accord achieving its aims.
Rob would train the Accord’s local teams, work closely with the chief safety inspector and be a link to garment workers, the statement said, adding, both of these executive directors would be instrumental in implementing the work of the Accord in Bangladesh and in raising the profile of the Accord and its work, to stakeholders and the public.
The Accord for Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was signed on May 13 in response to the Rana Plaza factory building collapse on April 24, 2013.
Meanwhile, Woolworths Australia, GEBRA, Wünsche Group of Germany have become the latest brands to sign the Accord, which aims to make the garment industry safe and sustainable for years to come. The number of total brands has crossed 100 with these retailers signing the Accord.
The Accord, a broad coalition of industry-leading brands with IndustriALL Global Union and UNI, has already released the names of more than 1,600 factories to be inspected to ensure fire and building safety.
-With The Daily Star input
