AFTER the Tazreen Fashion fire and Rana Plaza disaster, the inspection and remediation platform Accord has apparently become a burden to the country’s garments sector for their excessive force to spend billion dollars to improve the safety of workplace. Shockingly, as per news media, the Accord has sent letters to its signatories (buyers) to sever business ties with Bangladeshi 532 RMG factories for their slow progress in upgradation – a devastating call indeed.
In this backdrop, most factory owners have been persistently pressuring the government not to extend the contract of the Accord which would end on November 30 after six months extension. The Netherlands-based watchdog Accord wants another extension till 2021 while the European Parliament adopted a resolution in favour of extension and ILO supported it.
Factory owners said depending on their business size, owners have spent between Tk 5 crore and Tk 20 crore on each factory on remediation in line with the Accord compliance. But the Accord suggests more expensive retrofitting options in spite of the availability of cheaper local sources. For example, the Accord engineers asked for Tk. 70 lakh for retrofitting which local engineers could deliver for Tk. 20 lakh only. The Accord provided a list of 55 companies to source fire safety equipment. Many factory owners expressed their worries about the possibility of recommended companies cashing in on the situation by demanding a higher price for safety equipment. It has inspected over 2,000 factories and helped draw up plans to fix 150,000 structures.
The factories bear all the brunt of additional expenses while the signatory brands keep on bargaining for cheaper prices. It’s the main problem amidst the price falling. Businesses alleged that the Accord has also played a major role in slowing the growth of thriving garment industry in Bangladesh. However, the subcontracting firms have died a slow death as a result of stringent compliance.
The premature shutdown of the Accord might leave workers in unsafe circumstances, jeopardise brands ability to source from a safe industry. So, we need to strengthen our local regulatory mechanisms, include more labour rights activists with a view to holding corporations, factory owners, and government accountable. The authorities concern should take decision carefully considering the capacity of garments sector whether it has enough ability to bear the billion dollar extra burden.
