May 16, 2013

More than 40 of the world’s leading apparel retailers and brands have committed to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, accounting for more than 1,000 Bangladeshi garment factories. The legally binding program for fire and building safety includes independent inspections, worker-led health and safety committees and union access to factories, commitments to underwrite improvements in dangerous factories and resolve fire safety and structural problems. Importantly, the Accord also grants workers the right to refuse dangerous work, in line with ILO Convention 155.

The Maquila Solidarity Network welcomes the participation of so many key companies in the Accord, which will be signed by IndustriALL and UNI global unions and witnessed by labour rights organizations including the Clean Clothes Campaign, the Worker Rights Consortium, International Labor Rights Forum, and MSN.

With the May 15 deadline for initial signatures passed, the next step is for participating company and trade union signatories to begin implementation. For companies that have not yet signed – including most Canadian companies, with the notable exception of Loblaw – signing on now will ensure that they are part of the solution in Bangladesh and not part of the problem.

• Read the news release from Clean Clothes Campaign here
• See a list of current signatories to the Accord