After wielding intense pressure against a Bangladesh apparel maker over assaults on union leaders outside its factories, Western companies have agreed to resume business with the manufacturer, on the condition that it stays committed to halting further violence and make peace with its labor unions. VF Corp, which makes North Face and Nautica, and PVH, the parent of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, as well as Gap, El Corte Ingles, and other companies had cut off or threatened to cut off orders from the company, Azim Group, last year over incidents at two of its factories in Chittagong.

But after weeks of negotiations, these companies have agreed to resume business with Azim because it has promised to recognize and bargain with the unions at the two factories where the violence occurred. The Azim Group has also agreed to stop efforts to oust a labor union, to pay the medical bills of a badly beaten union leader, and to allow several union officials to return to work with full back pay.

This is the first time brands have taken such a concerted action in response to the use of violence against trade unions in Bangladesh. In another incident a woman who was an union president was beaten on the head with an iron rod outside a factory that is also owned by the Azim Group.