Bangladesh Factory Fire Safety: Retailers Take Responsibility

Since 2005 at least 1,800 workers’ lives have been lost due to an overwhelming disregard for fire and safety.

Adding to a tragic recent history of disasters in Bangladesh’s factories, the Rana Plaza collapse in April 2013 followed on from the Tazreen factory fire, in which at least 112 workers perished.

The Tazreen factory owner remains free to trade, without conviction despite admitting responsibility of locking the factory doors as “standard procedure” to prevent theft from the garment factory.

The eight-storey Rana Plaza, which collapsed on the April 24 in the suburb of Dhaka, was best known for its primary use as a garment factory. A 400-page report on the collapse of the Plaza building revealed, it was simply a disaster waiting to happen. The report unearthed another case of horrific ignorance following a series of power failures and structural cracks that were apparent and overlooked just one day before 1,100 people were killed.

Sparking global outrage and protests, the collapse exposed a series of fire safety and health issues surrounding the garment industry. Many Bangladeshi factory owners were left with no choice but to close as their workers took to the streets in protest. With a tarnished reputation, the Bangladeshi government and the trade group Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association stepped up and pledged to compensate the injured workers and family members of the deceased. This pledge has not lived up to its promise. The tragedy only worsens as many victims await compensation.

Bangladesh is home to one of the largest garment industries in the world. Many Western retailers clothes are produced in the Rana Plaza. Low wages and light regulation have been an attractive proposition for many of these retailers, but since the Rana Plaza disaster international pressure has been at an all-time high to improve working conditions and safety. The question of blame is always popular in the aftermath of a disaster, but the question of who takes responsibility and how is a lot more difficult.

Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh

Two weeks after the Rana Plaza Disaster, Rob Ratcliff lent his view that Western retailers “should actively push for and ensure that fire safety and other standards are achieved.” This view was shared amongst by many, and soon after the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was written by Bangladeshi and international unions.

Click here to view Figure 1.

Led by IndustriALL and UNI trade unions, the accord is a five-year, independent, legally-binding agreement with the aim of making the Bangladeshi garment industry safe and sustainable. Some of the key implementation measures include:

• Initial inspections to identify hazards to be repaired within nine months.
• Worker-led health and safety committees.
• An interim procedure to take place when factories are identified for remediation.
• A governance structure created through a committee with equal representation of unions, signatories, and an advisory board.
• Publicly shared factory information.
• Negotiation of commercial terms with suppliers.

A long list of promises, but how is it funded? The plan rests on the condition that signatories to the accord will contribute an equitable share towards the funding required. There are now 91 clothing brands and retailers as signatories to the accord, including well-known brands such as Primark, H&M, and Tesco. It has been noted that the accord consists of mainly European retailers and only a few US retailers.

The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety

With a global response to taking responsibility by signing up to the accord, 17 US retailers took their own stance by setting up another group, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.

Click here to view Figure 2.

Led by Walmart and Gap, the US initiative outlines a “binding, five-year undertaking that will be transparent, results-oriented, measurable and verifiable with the intent of improving safety in Bangladeshi ready-made garment factories.”

Despite this confidently positive statement, The alliance faced immediate criticism from a range of experts and the unions representing the accord, with the IndustriALL Global Union’s general secretary Jyrki Raina describing the US initiative as a “pale imitation in terms of commitment and transparency.”

Unlike the accord, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety is:

• Not a legally binding agreement.
• Based on a no-strings-attached approach. It offers to make loans available but does not ensure the bottom line of factory safety.
• Does not comment on giving workers the right to refuse to enter a dangerous building.

Some of the key implementation measures include:

• Conducting baseline surveys of factory workers.
• Third-party training for factory workers.
• A committee of experts in fire and building safety.
• Member commitment to the establishment of a worker safety fund.
• Shared responsibility with the government of Bangladesh.

Which initiative do you think will lead to long-lasting sustainability and fire safety in Bangladesh factories?