Fashion

Just one in eight Bangladesh garment factories pass international safety inspection


Just one in eight Bangladesh garment factories pass international safety inspection

The president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA) has said that only 200 out of 1,500 garment factories
in the country have met safety requirements for workers set out by an
international accord, Reuters reports.

According to the news organisation, Rubana Huq accused members of the
accord on Sunday of unilaterally imposing new requirements which were
damaging the sector. She said she had met with their inspectors on Saturday
to urge them to consult with manufacturers on their decisions.

The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety is a legally-binding
pact signed by 200 fashion companies following the Rana Plaza building
collapse in 2013 which resulted in the deaths of over 1,100 garment factory
workers.

“We had an agreement with Accord in May this year that it will not take
any decision unilaterally but that has not been honoured,” Rubana Huq said,
according to Reuters. “Since the formation of Accord, we implemented a lot
of remediation as per its requirements that involved huge investment. Now,
in the name of final checks, the Accord is asking for several
remediations.”

Huq said that only 200 of the 1,600 factories inspected between 2014 and
2019 had been awarded completion certificates for meeting safety
requirements. Huq also said that at least 400 factories were no longer
allowed to accept orders from the Western brands that are members of the
accord as a result of them not not complying to the new safety rules
quickly enough.

Originally planned to expire in May 2018, the five-year pact has since
been given an extension.

Photo courtesy of Bangladesh accord



READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.