Bangladesh activates the replacement of the Accord for the safety in its factories

Bangladesh activates the new Accord. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (Bgmea) has created the new Readymade Sustainability Council (RSC) that takes over the Accord on Fire and Building Safety to monitor the safety measures in the factories on the country.

The RSC also counts with the support of European retailers, that were part of the Accord. “We could reach an agreement after two days of detailed discussions among us where almost all the representatives of fashion brand attended,” said Rubana Huq, president of Bgmea to Reuters.

According to Huq, the RSC is an unprecedented national initiative, uniting industry, brands and trade unions to ensure a sustainable solution to carry forward the significant accomplishments made on workplace safety in Bangladesh, Huq said.

The Readymade Sustainability Council counts with the support of international fashion groups, according to the Bgmea

The new body is created after the polemics over the viability of the Accord, after it ended its period and extended a transition that was due to expire in May 2018.  However, the executive took the organization to court to force its closure and take over its operations.

Finally, last May, courts gave green light to the Accord for twelve more months, allowing negotiations to continue between the governments, syndicates and factories to complete the actions in terms of safety. While the courts delivered, the administration also started the Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC), an organism to supervise safety in the factories of the country.

In fact, at the begging of 2019 a research made by international entities that supervise labor right stated that none of the 745 factories that are under the government’s inspection system eliminated the high-risk tag.

The Accord started running in 2013 after the Rana Plaza tragedy that ended the life of more than 1,200 people. 220 companies of the sector supported it as well as syndicates and NGO’s. For the five years it was active, more than 1,600 factories in the country where inspected. Its transition time added other 189 companies and had as a goal to set the territory to give control to the government.