UNB, Dhaka :
IndustriALL Global Union and UNI Global Union have reached a $2.3 million settlement with a multinational apparel brand to remedy life-threatening workplace hazards.
The brand, which cannot be named under the terms of the settlement, has agreed to pay $2 million towards remediation of more than 150 garment factories in Bangladesh. The settlement, reached through an arbitration process under the legally-binding Bangladesh Accord for Fire and Building Safety, represents one of the largest payments made by a brand to remedy workplace dangers in its supply chain.
The apparel maker will contribute a further $300,000 into IndustriALL and UNI’s joint Supply Chain Worker Support Fund, established to support the work of the global unions to improve pay and conditions for workers in global supply chains, according to a statement seen by UNB. The global unions brought the case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration arguing that the brand did not require its factories to remedy hazards in a timely manner-leaving thousands of workers in dangerous conditions.
The unions also charged that the brand did not ensure that it was financially feasible for its factories to fix ongoing safety issues, as required by the Accord. At the time of the case’s filing in October 2016, none of the brand’s known supplier factories had completed the required remediation and all of them had at least one high risk safety hazard which had not been fixed. These included factories lacking fire alarm and
sprinkler systems, lacking fire doors, and not separating flammable materials from the factories’ boilers. The unions’ claim for arbitration spurred several of the brand’s contracted factories towards better progress-one went from a remediation rate of roughly 50 percent in October 2016 to more than 90 percent in October 2017. However, many other factories supplying the brand continue to lag far behind, with remediation rates hovering near 50 percent and serious structural and fire safety issues left unresolved. All necessary safety improvements need to be completed by the Accord’s expiration in May 2018.
IndustriALL Global Union and UNI Global Union have reached a $2.3 million settlement with a multinational apparel brand to remedy life-threatening workplace hazards.
The brand, which cannot be named under the terms of the settlement, has agreed to pay $2 million towards remediation of more than 150 garment factories in Bangladesh. The settlement, reached through an arbitration process under the legally-binding Bangladesh Accord for Fire and Building Safety, represents one of the largest payments made by a brand to remedy workplace dangers in its supply chain.
The apparel maker will contribute a further $300,000 into IndustriALL and UNI’s joint Supply Chain Worker Support Fund, established to support the work of the global unions to improve pay and conditions for workers in global supply chains, according to a statement seen by UNB. The global unions brought the case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration arguing that the brand did not require its factories to remedy hazards in a timely manner-leaving thousands of workers in dangerous conditions.
The unions also charged that the brand did not ensure that it was financially feasible for its factories to fix ongoing safety issues, as required by the Accord. At the time of the case’s filing in October 2016, none of the brand’s known supplier factories had completed the required remediation and all of them had at least one high risk safety hazard which had not been fixed. These included factories lacking fire alarm and
sprinkler systems, lacking fire doors, and not separating flammable materials from the factories’ boilers. The unions’ claim for arbitration spurred several of the brand’s contracted factories towards better progress-one went from a remediation rate of roughly 50 percent in October 2016 to more than 90 percent in October 2017. However, many other factories supplying the brand continue to lag far behind, with remediation rates hovering near 50 percent and serious structural and fire safety issues left unresolved. All necessary safety improvements need to be completed by the Accord’s expiration in May 2018.
