Signatories to the agreement must ensure that the programme remains as effective and transparent as before and that they fulfil their obligations under the binding agreement. But the Rana Plaza tragedy of 2013 woke the world up to serious health and safety issues (among other injustices) in the supply chain of Bangladesh`s garment industry. Shaken by the disaster, millions of consumers signed their names in petitions and joined protests calling on international brands and retailers to take responsibility for the workers who made their clothes. More than 200 brands have signed the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety. According to Laura Guttierez of the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), one of the signatories of the agreement, international brands have claimed to be responding to these disasters. They visited factories but did nothing to change the physical construction problems caused by these fatal accidents. There must be a way to hold brands legally accountable. A call has been made for brands of international and Bangladeshi workers` groups to sign some sort of binding safety agreement. Only 2 brands applied, Tchibo and PVH. The agreement was never implemented.

Bangladesh is the fourth largest exporter of clothing to the United States. The garment sector accounts for 80% of the country`s exports and employs more than 3.5 million workers. These workers face some of the worst conditions in the industry, including poverty wages, verbal and physical harassment, retaliation for advocating for better conditions, and extremely dangerous factory buildings. In addition to building inspection systems and the enforcement of fire and safety standards, the agreement requires that contracts between international retailers and Bangladeshi manufacturers provide for appropriate compensation for the maintenance of safe buildings. Retailers are committed to continuing to support the textile industry in Bangladesh despite possible cost increases. It is estimated that the total cost can be $1 billion, or about $500,000 per plant. [1] Close cooperation with the International Labour Organization and the Government of Bangladesh is needed. A steering committee governing the agreement will be established, along with dispute resolution procedures and arbitration. The agreement provides for the development of an implementation plan over a period of 45 days. [2] The agreement is an example of multi-stakeholder project-based governance.

You could see how the factories were literally transforming, some had to close. For the first time, you have seen real money invested in building security. Inspections of these plants revealed nearly 100,000 safety violations, ranging from structural damage to dangerous escape routes. To date, 50,000 of these violations have been corrected. The Bangladesh Accord, the legally binding agreement between brands and unions that followed the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 that killed more than 1,100 people, is set to expire next month. Its impact is virtually undisputed, as measurable improvements in safety – and fewer disasters – have been achieved in factories across Bangladesh. However, after the temporary extension beyond the initial expiration in May, negotiations on an extension are ongoing and a long-term agreement remains elusive. The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety was established in 2013 in the wake of Rana Plaza.

The agreement is a legally binding agreement signed by individual brands, two global union federations, eight of their affiliated unions in Bangladesh and four workers` rights monitoring organizations. The agreement ensures independent safety inspections of factories, correction of issues identified by the independent inspection, safety training programs for workers in factories, a worker complaint process, transparent reporting on all aspects of the Agreement`s programs, and accountability of apparel brands and their suppliers. Rana Plaza was an eight-story building in Savar, Bangladesh, with five garment factories inside that made clothing for many of the world`s leading brands, including Walmart, Mango, Primark, The Children`s Place and Joe Fresh. Factory workers noticed cracks in the building – signs of a dangerous structural failure – but factory owners insisted that they do their job or be fired. On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza collapsed, killing more than 1,100 garment workers and injuring more than 2,600 others. Independent inspections of Accord factories have identified more than 144,000 fire, electrical and structural hazards at 1,600 garment factories in Bangladesh, more than 90% of which have been resolved; training more than 1.7 million workers in workplace safety; and resolved 359 security and legal complaints. .