About the Accord

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (the Accord) was signed on May 15th 2013. It is a five year independent, legally binding agreement between global brands and retailers and trade unions designed to build a safe and healthy Bangladeshi Ready Made Garment (RMG) Industry. The agreement was created in the immediate aftermath of the Rana Plaza building collapse that led to the death of more than 1100 people and injured more than 2000. In June 2013, an implementation plan was agreed leading to the incorporation of the Bangladesh Accord Foundation in the Netherlands in October 2013.

The agreement consists of six key components:

1. A five year legally binding agreement between brands and trade unions to ensure a safe working environment in the Bangladeshi RMG industry

2. An independent inspection program supported by brands in which workers and trade unions are involved

3. Public disclosure of all factories, inspection reports and corrective action plans (CAP) 4. A commitment by signatory brands to ensure sufficient funds are available for

remediation and to maintain sourcing relationships 5. Democratically elected health and safety committees in all factories to identify and

act on health and safety risks 6. Worker empowerment through an extensive training program, complaints

mechanism and right to refuse unsafe work.

Creation of the accord:

The accord was sponsored and created by the Industrial Global Union and the UNI Global Union in alliance with leading NGOs, the Clean Clothes Campaign and the Workers’ Rights Consortium. It is an expanded version of an earlier 2-year accord that had been signed only by PVH and Tchibo.

Following the 2013 Savar building collapse on 24 April 2013 that resulted in over 1,100 deaths, there was wide global interest by both the consuming public and clothing retailers in establishing enforceable standards for fire and building safety in Bangladesh. The German government sponsored a meeting of retailers and NGOs at the beginning of May, and the meeting set a deadline of midnight of 16 May 2013 to sign up to the agreement. Numerous companies had signed up by the deadline, covering over 1,000 Bangladeshi garment factories.

Terms:

In addition to schemes of building inspection and enforcement of fire and safety standards the accord requires that contracts by international retailers with Bangladesh manufacturers provide for compensation adequate to maintain safe buildings. Retailers agree to continue to support the Bangladesh textile industry despite possible higher costs. It is estimated that the total cost may be $1 billion, about $500,000 per factory. Close co-operation with the International Labor Organization and the government of Bangladesh is required. A steering committee which governs the accord is established as are dispute resolution procedures such as arbitration. The accord calls for development of an Implementation Plan over 45 days.

Signatories:

Since 29 October 2013, the Accord has been signed by over 200 apparel brands, retailers and importers from over 20 countries in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia; two global trade unions; and eight Bangladesh trade unions and four NGO witnesses. Some of the notable companies are listed below. For a complete list see the Bangladesh Accord website.

Abercrombie & Fitch Adidas Åhléns Aldi North Aldi South American Eagle

Outfitters Antigua Apparel Arcadia Group Artsana Auchan Benetton Bestseller Bonmarche C&A Camaieu Carrefour Coop Danmark A/S Cotton On Dansk Supermarked

G-Star Groupe Casino Gruppo Coin/OVS H&M Helly Hansen HEMA Hugo Boss Hunkemöller IC Companys Inditex (parent of

Zara) John Lewis KappAhl Karstadt KiK Kmart Australia LC Waikiki Lidl Loblaw LPP

New Look Next Otto GmbH Pacific Brands Primark Puma SE PVH (parent of Calvin Klein,

Tommy Hilfiger and Izod) Rewe Group River Island s.Oliver Sainsbury's Schmidt Group Sean John Shop Direct Group Stadium Stockmann Suprema Tally Weijl Target Australia

De Bijenkorf Debenhams E.Leclerc Edinburgh Woollen

Mill El Corte Inglés Esprit Fast Retailing Fat Face Fruit of the Loom

Mango Marks and Spencer Matalan Mavi Metro Group Monoprix Morrisons Mothercare N Brown Group

Tchibo Tesco Voice Norge AS Zeeman

Rival American plan:

Most North American retailers did not sign the accord. Companies like Gap Inc. and Walmart cited liability concerns. According to spokespersons for the retail industry, American courts, which allow class actions, contingent fees, and do not require losing plaintiffs to pay legal fees, might permit liability claims against retailers in the event of another disaster which might result in substantial enforceable judgments, in contrast to European courts which generally do not allow class actions, forbid contingent fees, and require losing plaintiffs to pay winning defendants' legal fees and costs. However, as John C. Coffee, professor of corporate law at Columbia Law School, pointed out, Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. might apply thus foreclosing suits by Bangladesh workers under the Alien Tort Claims Act, but this seems unlikely. It is more likely that liability would be based on contract law.

On 10 July 2013, a group of 17 major North American retailers calling themselves the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety announced the Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative. The Initiative drew criticism from labour groups who complained that it was less stringent than the Accord and lacked legally binding commitments to pay for improvements.

Latest:

In two years, the Accord have inspected more than 1500 factories for fire, electrical and structural safety. Many safety issues were identified at each inspected factory. Accord said, fixing all these hazards is a huge work for the RMG industry, but safety remediation work in those factories is underway. There has been especially good progress on electrical remediation which is positive as most factory fires are caused by electrical hazards. The Government of Bangladesh has said that the Accord will not be extended at the end of its five year term.

Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety

The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety

Founded July 2013; 4 years ago Location Dhaka, Bangladesh

Website bangladeshworkersafety.org

The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, also known as "the Alliance" or AFBWS, is a group of 28 major global retailers formed to develop and launch the Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative, a binding, five-year undertaking with the intent of improving safety in Bangladeshi ready-made garment (RMG) factories after the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse. Collectively, Alliance members represent the majority of North American imports of ready-made garments from Bangladesh, produced in more than 700 factories.

Background:

After the 2013 Savar building collapse, Walmart became a founding member of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. Monsoon was a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) from before the 2013 Savar building collapse due to structural integrity and failure.

The building had housed a number of separate garment factories employing around 5,000 people, several shops, and a bank. The factories manufactured apparel for brands including Benetton, Monsoon Accessorize, Bonmarché, the Children's Place, El Corte Inglés, Joe Fresh, Mango, Matalan, Primark and Walmart.

Formation of the Alliance:

The Alliance was organized through the U.S. Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) with discussions convened and chaired by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-ME) and former U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). The collaborative formation process involved apparel industry companies and stakeholders, including the U.S. and Bangladeshi governments, policymakers, international NGOs, and members of civil society and organized labor in Bangladesh. On July 10, 2013, the group announced the

Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative. The Initiative is a binding, five-year plan focused on fire and building safety inspections, worker training, and worker empowerment.

The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety has elected former US Representative Ellen Tauscher as independent chairperson.

Alliance work in Bangladesh:

Factory inspections and public reporting:

The Alliance helped develop a common Fire Safety and Structural Integrity Standard – founded on the requirements of the 2006 Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), though the Standard exceeds those requirements in some cases. The Standard was developed and is being implemented to ensure that all Member factories are held to the same safety requirements. The Standard was developed by technical experts from both the Alliance and the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, and finalized in December 2013. The Standard has been harmonized with the guidelines developed by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) for the National Tripartite Plan of Action (NTPA).

The Alliance has retained a committee of independent fire and structural safety experts from Bangladesh, Europe and North America who are credentialed authorities in fire or building structural safety. The Committee of Experts (COE) is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Alliance Standard, which includes approving qualified inspectors, conducting spot audits of remediation efforts and validating inspection reports. The Alliance has publicly announced that it aims to inspect all factories producing for its members by July 10, 2014.

The Alliance is working with the Fair Factories Clearinghouse, a non-profit organization that provides software to facilitate information-sharing. Alliance Members use this public platform to provide and exchange information about factories they use, fire and building safety training programs and curricula, and submit monthly reports on safety inspections and progress update on remediation plans being undertaken.

The Standard is used to evaluate all Alliance factories. The Board of Directors issues semi-annual public reports detailing its work and progress toward meeting in-country fire and building safety objectives, as well as training and worker empowerment goals.

In early September, 2015 the Alliance has recognized six RMG factories of Bangladesh to international standard as they finished all reformation works.

Worker participation:

In November and December 2013, the Alliance conducted a Worker Baseline Survey among more than 3,200 workers in 28 garment factories in Bangladesh. 10 focus groups were conducted off-site with 101 participants in three Bangladeshi regions to obtain more information on fire and other health and safety issues.

The purpose of the survey and the off-site interviews was to better understand the current level of awareness of health and safety risks and what workers believe needs to be done to improve safety and reduce risk in the factories. It is also a tool that will inform the necessary detail of our training programs.

The Alliance's worker helpline and education program will be implemented by three worker empowerment-focused, organizations, working in partnership. Clear Voice, the organization that provides tools for communication with workers, was founded by an early worker rights and human rights pioneer, Doug Cahn. Clear Voice will partner with Phulki, one of Bangladesh's leading worker rights non-governmental organizations (NGO), and Good World Solutions, whose focus will be on applying its Labor Link technology to train workers on their rights and survey them on their wellbeing.

Beginning March 2014, the helpline program will be piloted in 50 factories Dhaka and Chittagong, with in-factory orientations to accompany the launch at each location. Helplines will roll out to 100 factories by March 2015, with the goal of becoming functional in all Alliance factories by 2017.

Local operations:

On December 9, 2013, the Alliance opened an office in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where the Alliance is focused on inspection implementation, development of a worker training curriculum, establishing a worker empowerment helpline, and building local capacity for completing factory improvements. As of February 2014, the Dhaka office serves as the primary hub for staff and organizational activities. All staff members in the Dhaka office are Bangladeshi nationals who bring decades of combined experience in Bangladesh's garment industry. As of March 2014, the team includes a managing director, managers for fire and structural safety, assessments, training, worker outreach and empowerment, factory liaison and remediation, as well as other support staff.

Alliance governance:

The Board of Directors is entrusted with oversight responsibility for Alliance Members' compliance with Initiative requirements, such as meeting financial obligations and self-imposed deadlines for achieving inspections, information-sharing and worker training agreements.

The Board has the authority to investigate possible non-compliance, and take appropriate action against delinquent companies, by a two-thirds majority vote, including termination of membership in the Alliance.