Retailers renew Bangladesh treaty

Several major retailers have signed a new version of the treaty designed to guarantee the Bangladeshi textile factories’ safety. The current treaty would have ended next year, but it has now been extended to 2021.

77 % solved

The ‘Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh’ was the result of the Rana Plaza disaster of 2013, when more than a thousand textile factory workers died. The disaster revealed how barely any Bangladeshi factory was in accordance with the safety guidelines.

Subsequently, several groups (including the labour unions and a range of fashion companies) strove to improve the textile industry’s working conditions. According to the Clean Clothes Campaign, a driving force behind the treaty, 77 % of the safety violations were solved in the factories that are part of the treaty.

“The renewal of the Bangladesh Accord ensures the continuation of the most effective program to ensure the safety of factory buildings in the contemporary era of global garment production. The Accord has generated more than 100,000 documented safety improvements in more than 1,500 apparel factories, employing more than 2.5 million garment workers”, Clean Clothes Campaign’s spokesperson Ineke Zeldenrust said.

Broader reach

Its continuation is not to give factories more time to meet the deadlines though, because they still have to reach their targets by May 2018, when the current treaty ends. The new treaty incorporates a severance package when factories shut down or move. It also includes several other solutions that should help improve working conditions.

There is also room for a similar treaty for industries closely tied to the textile industry, like the shoe or home textile industry. These are not part of the treaty now, but their factories often face similar issues.