North American retailers’ group on Wednesday assured the garment factory owners that its members would not pull out their business they are doing with the Bangladesh apparel factories housed in shared buildings. The group also assured of its all-out support towards improving the working condition in Bangladesh’s readymade garment sector. The assurances came from the retailers’ group, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, at a meeting with the garment factory owners and other stakeholders at the Westin Hotel in the city.
The Alliance’s visiting board of directors led by its chair Ellen O Tauscher, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Md Atiqul Islam, vice-president Shahidullah Azim, former BGMEA presidents Annisul Huq and Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury, and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice-president AH Aslam Sunny attended the meeting.
Meeting sources said that the garment manufacturers urged the retailers not to inspect again the factories which had already been inspected by the Accord, an EU retailers’ group.
The sources said Alliance high-ups confirmed that they would avoid double inspection and had already informed Accord in this regard but the EU retailers’ group was yet to response.
Shahidullah Azim told New Age that the Alliance highly appreciated garment manufacturers for their coordination in the safety inspection and said they wanted to continue their business with Bangladesh for long.
The Alliance suggested the manufacturers that they should relocate their factories from vulnerable buildings gradually and said they had no agenda to pull out their business from the factories housed in shared buildings, he said.
‘RMG manufacturers informed the retailers’ group that that they are moving forward with a good intention to make the RMG sector compliant but they need time,’ Azim said.
The Alliance agreed with the manufacturers, he added.
The Alliance board members arrived in Dhaka on April 14 to discuss the progress of the commitments which were made after the Rana Plaza collapse and the progress of ongoing safety inspections.
The Alliance undertook a five-year plan on Bangladesh factory safety following the Rana Plaza building collapse on April 24 last year which killed 1,135 people, mostly garment workers.
The retailers’ group started from February this year inspection to about 600 factories in Bangladesh from where its members procure their products and has already completed assessment in 50 per cent of its listed factories.
-With New Age input
