Trade
unions representing Bangladeshi textile workers have reached a $2.3m (£1.6m)
settlement with a multinational fashion brand which was accused of postponing
the process of fixing life-threatening hazards in factories.The unnamed fashion
brand will pay $2m to fix safety issues in more than 150 textile factories in Bangladesh and
a further $300,000 towards improving pay and conditions for workers in global
clothing supply chains.The UNI Global Union and IndustriALL Global Union took two leading fashion
brands to court in 2016 following the introduction of Bangladesh’s Accord on
Fire and Building Safety in 2013, a legally binding agreement under which the
world’s largest fashion brands must shoulder the costs for improving health and
safety in Bangladeshi factories.
The Accord came into effect after the fatal Rana Plaza
factory disaster killed over a thousand people in 2013.Marks &
Spencer, Primark, Adidas, H&M, Top Shop and John Lewis are among 200
signatories of the accord, according to its website.The two global trade unions
already settled a case relating to factory conditions in Bangladesh at The
Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration in December, with another unnamed global
brand.“The settlement makes real resources available to over 150 factories so they
can finally make the necessary repairs that were needed years ago”, said
Christy Hoffman, UNI Global Union’s deputy general secretary.“We will continue
pushing to make sure that all brands contribute their fair share to make work
safer in Bangladesh.”
IndustriALL’s general secretary Valter Sanches said the settlement shows that
the Bangladesh Accord is “proof that legally-binding mechanisms can hold
multinational companies to account”.“We are glad that the brand in question is
now taking seriously its responsibility for the safety of its supplier
factories in Bangladesh”, said Mr Sanches.A second accord with greater investment in health and
safety checks will come into effect this year as the original one is due to
expire in May.
The collapse of the eight-storey Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh’s capital
city Dhaka was caused by four upper floors having been built without permission
on unstable ground.The disaster was one of the world’s worst industrial
catastrophes in history leaving over 2,500 people injured and killing 1,135
workers.
Source: The Daily Star, Bangladesh Wednesday, 24 January 2018