The readymade garment sector leaders have welcomed the recent initiatives of North American and EU retail brands over the Bangladesh safety issue but urged them to work under the National Action Plan to ensure better coordination and to avoid repetition and overlapping of work.
They stressed on the effective coordination and a unified plan of action to repair or relocation of the all needed factories under the programme of two separate agreements of the EU and North American retailers.
A consortium of 70 retailers and apparel brands from the EU on May 15 formed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and announced its action plan on July 8.
The AFBSB was the culmination of previous negotiations and attempts made following the Garib & Garib fire in 2010 to set up a multi-stakeholder mechanism for fire and building safety.
On the other hand, 17 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.
Simultaneously the EU launched Global Sustainability Compact, a joint initiative for improving conditions for workers in Bangladeshi garment factories on July 8.
The move is a response to the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka in April which resulted in over 1,100 deaths, mostly of garment workers.
The country’s apparel sector leaders hoped that the Accord of EU and the Alliance of North America would be positive for the sector and the initiatives of two separate agreements would bring a significant development.
The Compact will monitor the improvement of labour rights, health and safety conditions for workers, as well as to encourage responsible behaviour by businesses in the readymade garment industry, they said.
The sector leaders said that the Compact was a government-level monitoring initiative of Bangladesh and EU countries.
All of the initiatives of Compact, Alliance and Accord will be very helpful for the industry to make the factories safer, they said.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice-president Shahidullah Azim said the Alliance would inspect about 600 factories that manufacture products for them.
The Alliance has decided to give loan through BRAC bank with low interest to renovate the factory and to give wages of the workers as during the renovation period of the factory the production would remain suspended, he said.
Azim said the Alliance had included the BGMEA president in their nine-member steering committee and they were very much positive to work with Bangladesh.
‘As we urged them for a unified code of conduct, they agreed but in another name — Standard of Parameter,’ he said.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice-president Mohammed Hatem said both the Compact and Alliance would be positive on the country and ‘we hope a new development in the RMG sector’.
He said the unified code of conduct and fair price are must to improve the labour condition including fire, electrical and structural safety but the US was opposing the both proposal.
Hatem alleged that the garment sector leaders proposed for a unified code of conduct for audit and FOB (free on board) pricing in a conference of Compact in Geneva but it was not accepted due to the US opposition.
He said that a strong coordination between Bangladesh and the retailers groups was must to implement the action plan properly.
Hatem urged the EU Accord to include representatives from the government,
and the BGMEA and the BKMEA in their steering committee and to
work under the National Action Plan to avoid any overlapping.
He also said that not only compliance, but also the ethical business practice would be improved through the Compact and Alliance as some of the buyers and retailers were engaged in unethical business practices and dominating exporters for long.
BGMEA vice-president (finance) Reaz-Bin-Mahmood said the initiatives by the retailers and brands were appreciate but all stakeholders including the Bangladesh government and the BGMEA and BKMEA had to work together.
Like North American Alliance, EU Accord also needs to include the government and the BGMEA and BKMEA in their steering committee to ensure the coordinated work, he said.
The apparel trade bodies will extend all-out support to implement the Accord and Alliance plan but there is a strong doubt of repetition without unified plan as the same factories are making clothes for the EU retailers and North American retailers at the same time, Reaz said.
-With New Age input
