With the second anniversary of the deadliest garment factory accident in
the history of the fashion industry being marked today, it is time for a
review and an assessment of the current situation. What measures have been
taken, what progress has been made by the international fashion community
and local agencies in Bangladesh?
Click Here: cheap INTERNATIONAL jersey
On 24th April 2013, the Rana Plaza building complex in Savar on the
outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh collapsed. It housed five garment factories
that produced clothing for international brands and retailers, among them C&A,
Walmart, Primark, Kik, The Children’s Place, Dress Barn, Benetton and Mango.
As the world watched in horror, the death toll rose rapidly from dozens to
hundreds and finally to 1,133 workers. More than 2,500 workers were
injured. It was soon clear that this was not only one of the worst
industrial disasters for Bangladesh but the deadliest garment factory
accident in the history of the fashion industry.
After the shocks of the initial discovery – the poor conditions of
factories in Bangladesh, the low wages of garment workers and missing
health and safety measures – the international community and local
authorities came together to discuss the next steps and bring about
improvements.
Accord and Alliance support transparency
Two years on, both the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and
the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety have had a chance to publish
their 18 months progress reports, detailing the status of factory
inspections, the implementation of health and safety measures and the
progress of corrective action plans. For the first time, these reports are
also available online, detailing progress for each factory inspected and
adding transparency where there was none before.
In fact, transparency may be the biggest improvement. After all, before
the disaster, international buyers were more than reluctant to even
disclose their sources or admit to producing in some of the factories.
While some still are, transparency has increased and buyers are more open
to naming their suppliers, given that they are now part of a network of
factories that undergo audits and inspections regularly. On the factory
side, owners have understood that buyers are concerned about health and
safety measures and that they better comply if they want to stay
competitive.
Since the inspections started, over 175 factories have been closed due
to “compliance issues, western retailer audits, higher wages and political
disruptions” according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and
Exporters Association (BGMEA).
The question remains though is what has happened to the factories that
are neither covered by the Accord nor the Alliance? Given that the Accord
covers around 1,600 factories and the Alliance around 1,500, that still
leaves at least a third, if not more of Bangladesh’s 4,500 – 5,000 garment
factories that likely have not been inspected.
The problem is a known one as currently, 40 percent of all garment
factories are housed in shared buildings where western buyers do not want
to place orders due to non-compliance issues. Some two billion US dollars
would be needed to relocate those factories. “The government has to arrange
the fund at a low interest rate to help their relocation,” said BGMEA vice
president Shahidullah Azim.
Compensation slowly trickling in
In terms of funding, Italian fashion house Benetton was just in the news
for being one of the last Accord signatories and major international buyers
to fulfill its pledge. Though the company donated 1.1 million US dollars
into a compensation fund for victims, campaigners were disappointed that
the fund’s target of 30 million US dollars had not been reached and that
Benetton was not willing to pick up the tap.
“Benetton had a real opportunity to emerge as a leader and prove that
its pledges of empathy, understanding and care for the welfare of the
victims were not just some PR spin. Unfortunately, the true colors of
Benetton are now revealed,” commented Ineke Zeldenrust, spokeswoman for the
Clean Clothes Campaign.
Though the establishment of various funds is a step in the right
direction and globally, the first round of compensation has been completed,
the example of Benetton shows that a delay in disbursement due to confusion
or reluctance on the buyer’s part has delayed help for those who need it
most.
Campaigning site Avaaz’s campaign director Dalia Hashad hopes that
Benetton’s move will encourage other brands with links to Rana Plaza to pay
into the fund. “From Carrefour, Walmart and the Children’s Place to JC
Penney, all of them have either not given a cent or need to give more, so
that’s what we hope to see in the coming days,” she said.
She also points to the fact that some survivors are marked for life,
unable to work because of their physical injuries, too traumatized to
return to any garment factory, or facing discrimination. “This is a tragedy
from which people will never recover. There is discrimination against
survivors of the Rana Plaza because they’re looked at as damaged goods. The
need for full compensation is greater than ever”, emphasizes Hashad.
Helpline for workers has been received well
A real success has been the Alliance’s worker helpline “Amader Kotha” or
“Our Voice”, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is
currently accessible to over 500,000 workers in more than 300 factories;
the goal is to have 100 percent of factories and workers trained on how to
use it by July 2016. This is a commendable effort and improvement, giving a
voice to workers who had none before. The response shows that the workers
are only eager to use it – the helpline receives on average 3,000 calls per
month and callers (who may choose to remain anonymous) address issues not
only pertaining to workplace safety but also to working hours and wages.
As a country earning tens of billions of US dollars through a ready-made
garment industry that accounts for 80 percent of all exports, Bangladesh
seems to have emerged stronger after the tragedy, confidently setting an
export target of 50 billion US dollars by 2021.
“We are very confident about achieving the export earning target
set for 2021. But we need infrastructural and policy support to attain the
goal,” said Azim, adding that the apparel industry needs to be considered a
‘priority sector’ to graduate Bangladesh to a middle income nation by 2021.
For the time being, it is noticeable that though the reports of factory
incidences in Bangladesh have by no means ceased, however, fewer than
before seem to involve the garment industry. And that is hopefully an
indicator that developments have been moving in the right direction.