The case of two fashion brands — which remain confidential — accused of breaking an agreement to improve building and fire safety in garment factories in Bangladesh will be judged in the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague in March 2018. Trade unions were happy with the landmark ruling.
Jenny Holdcroft of IndustriALL Global Union was reported to have said, "For any brand that isn't in compliance, this decision sends a message that they cannot shirk their responsibility to worker safety.”
Poor working conditions and low wages were an area of concern in Bangladesh's garment industry which suffered one of the worst industrial accidents in 2013 when more than 1,100 people were killed in the collapse of the Rana Plaza complex. The Bangladesh Accord, which was signed in 2013 post this disaster, is a legally-binding agreement between global brands and trade unions to maintain a fire and building safety programme for textile industry workers. This fiasco ensured that fashion retailers work closely to protect workers and ensure safety of buildings in the South Asian nation and one of the reasons for this accord was to ensure greater supply-chain transparency.
The complaints allege that the two brands failed to force their suppliers to improve their facilities within the stipulated deadline and further did not help them to cover the costs to do so.
Under the accord, more than 1,18,500 fire, electrical and structural hazards have been identified at 1,800 factories which supply at least 200 brands, reports two federations.
"This decision is a win for worker safety and for accountability in Bangladesh's garment industry," said Christy Hoffman, deputy secretary general of the UNI Global Union.
China is the leading supplier of clothes to Western countries followed by Bangladesh which relies on apparel for over 80 per cent of its exports and around 4 million jobs.
Complaints from garment workers say that progress by retailers in fixing problems in the supply chain has been slow along with long working hours, low pay, poor safety standards and not being permitted to form trade unions.
