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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Bangladesh Safety Accord
A collection of FAQs about the Accord of Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh
Accord on Fire and Building Safety
After exposure in the media for lack of workers' safety at their Bangladeshi suppliers, the owner of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein signed a binding Safety Agreement with Bangladeshi and international labour organisations in March 2012. In August 2012 German retailer Tchibo was the second company to sign this agreement.
Aminul Islam murdered
Aminul Islam, a labour rights defender and long time partner of the Clean Clothes Campaign, was severely tortured and murdered on 4 April 2012. He had been tortured and jailed by security forces on previous occasions prior to his disappearance and killing. Sadly, no one has yet been held responsible for this murder.
Hazardous workplaces
Two accidents cost the lives of three workers in Continental Garments factories in Dhaka. At the Eurotex factory, an exploding boiler caused panic among the workers. In the resulting stampede, two workers lost their lives. Only three weeks later, in another Continental Garments factory, a lift cable broke, resulting in the death of another worker.
Tazreen fire
In November 2012, at least 112 workers died and hundreds were severely injured in a fire at Tazreen Fashions, a garment factory near Dhaka. Many of the workers jumped to their deaths trying to escape from the nine-storey building. Others were burned alive. Fire exits were either absent or closed. Tazreen produced garments for well-known brands including C&A, KIK, Walmart, Disney, Dickies and ENYCE.
Formation of factory union stifled
Following the formation of a factory-level union, five workers were sacked at Tokyo Mode Ltd, located north of the capital Dhaka. In order to end this labour rights violation, the Clean Clothes Campaign contacted the main buyers of the company. One of the buyers mediated between factory management, the union and a supporting labour rights NGO in Bangladesh.
Another deadly fire - despite early warnings
In October 2013 a fire broke out at Aswad Composite Mills, a fabric factory near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, resulting in the death of seven people and leaving 50 injured. Just a week earlier, the factory had received a formal government notification stating that the building was unsafe for work. However, they continued to operate. The factory was producing fabric for H&M, Primark and Walmart, amongst others.
Bittersweet victory after years of struggle
After years of repression by the Bangladeshi government, the NGO registration of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity was reinstated in August 2013. All of the many charges pressed against them have been dropped in the course of 2013 and 2014.
Factory inspection: threat of collapse
Inspections carried out in June 2013 revealed that the building of Liberty Fashion Wears in Dhaka was at risk of collapse, and the lives of 5,000 workers were at risk. Immediate evacuation of the workers and restoration of the building were necessary. After the failure of the owner to make the much-needed repairs, several brands pulled out of the factory.
Tortured and fired for demanding a fair wage
In early 2013, garment workers at the MN Sweater factory near Dhaka realised they had not been paid what they were entitled to. When sixteen of them complained, they were tortured and fired by the factory's management. The Clean Clothes Campaign, together with the 3F union, has been working to achieve justice for the workers.
Deadliest garment factory collapse ever kills 1,138 and injures thousands more
The collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka on 24 April 2013 cost the lives of 1,138 people and injured nearly 2,600 more, making it the deadliest garment-factory disaster ever. Since that terrible day, labour rights organisations have put continued pressured on international brands, employers’ organisations and governments to compensate the victims through the Rana Plaza Arrangement and to sign the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Accord.
Fire kills eight young women
Smart Export Garment in Dhaka is yet another site in Bangladesh where a deadly fire took place in 2013. It took the life of eight young women, and severely injured 25 others. Among the global brands with production at the factory were Inditex, New Look, KiK, Scott & Fox and Solo Invest.
Pressure for compensation continues for Tazreen Fire brands
On November 24 2012 at least 112 workers died and hundreds were severely injured in yet another devastating fire at the nine-storey Tazreen Fashions factory located in Ashulia, Dhaka in Bangladesh. Tazreen Fashions in Dhaka produced garments for well-known brands including C&A, KiK, Walmart, Disney, Dickies and ENYCE.
Chunji workers win right to organize at factory
Garment workers at Chunji Knit Ltd., in Dhaka, Bangladesh, can now freely organize a union, and workers fired for union activity will be reinstated, according to a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Chunji management and the Bangladesh Federation of Workers Solidarity (BFWS) in August 2014. The agreement follows pressure from the Clean Clothes Campaign, Workers Rights Consortium and Solidarity Center, demanding Chunji Knit and its buyers remediate workers' rights violations earlier this year.
Units of Liberty Fashion Wears closed
The Mirpur unit was temporarily closed as of April 2014. Management blamed the closure on low work orders, and said that the facilities would be reopened in two months. During this period of closure the workers' payment should continue. But the factory management has not taken any steps to reopen the factory and pay the workers.
Union leader tortured
In May 2014 a local union leader of the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) was found unconscious by the roadside about 45 kilometres from Dhaka.
Still failing to pay up
Of the US$ 30 million needed to compensate victims of the devastating Rana Plaza factory collapse in Dhaka, only 21 million has been donated so far.
Initial agreement reached on compensation
The fire at the nine-storey Tazreen factory in Dhaka in 2012 killed at least 112 workers, and left hundreds injured. Two years later, an initial agreement on compensation for the victims has been reached.
BLOG - Dhaka fire shows that Bangladesh must build better safety systems, rather than scrap the Accord
On the night of 20th February a fire broke out and rapidly spread through the densely packed Chawkbazar district in Dhaka, Bangladesh. At least 70 people died in the fire, which was exacerbated by illegally stored, highly combustible chemicals in the buildings.
BLOG - H&M praised by media for committing to pay poverty wages
Last week several media outlets applauded H&M for committing to raise its purchasing prices to meet the increased legal minimum wage for the garment sector in Bangladesh. H&M is reportedly the first global brand to tell its Bangladeshi suppliers it will do so. While this may be true, the praise heaped upon H&M is unwarranted, and the fact the industry and media applaud it is indicative of a thoroughly broken system.
BLOG - Open letter to brands producing in Bangladesh
To H&M, Bestseller, Next, Primark, C&A, Uniqlo, M&S, Puma, VF Corp., PVH, Walmart and Zara, and all international brands producing clothes in Bangladesh:
BLOG - Six years after the Rana Plaza collapse – what happened to the goodwill of the garment industry giants?
Six years ago today, a building came crashing down, shattering the worlds of thousands of garment workers. In the wake of this tragedy, there was one world that remained unchanged in Bangladesh, that of the global garment industry.
BLOG - Preserving the legacy of the Rana Plaza wake-up call
BLOG - Too poor? Shut up and work harder! How the BGMEA president tries to gloss over poverty wages
The flawed new minimum wage for ready-made garment workers in Bangladesh has led to a global outcry. 12,500 taka per month will keep the countries’ 4 to 4.5 million garment workers trapped in poverty. Instead of revising the disgraceful decision, Faruque Hassan, president of the business owners’ association BGMEA, felt compelled to publish a “clarification” note. However, the only thing the note clarifies is the dimension of disrespect of the employers’ president for the labour law and the lack of empathy for the dire situation of the workforce.