CCC welcomes H&M and Inditex decision to sign legally binding Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh
UPDATE (20-06-2013): more and more major retailers are announcing they will also sign
You can find an up-to-date list here
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H&M and Inditex's decision to sign the legally binding Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh is crucial: Pressure mounts on other key industry players to sign.
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The leadership of PVH (Calvin Klein/Tommy Hilfiger) and Tchibo, the first two companies to embrace a binding agreement, has been vital.
The Clean Clothes Campaign welcomes the monumental news that H&M and Inditex agreed to sign the legally binding, enforceable and transparent Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh with IndustriALL, UNI and Bangladeshi unions. CCC will sign the Accord as a witness.
Ineke Zeldenrust from the Clean Clothes Campaign says, ‘The Accord includes all of the components essential to be effective: independent safety inspections with public reports, mandatory repairs and renovations, the obligation by brands and retailers to underwrite the costs and to terminate business with any factory that refuses to make necessary safety upgrades, and a vital role for workers and their unions. At the heart of the agreement is the commitment by companies to pay for the renovations and repairs necessary to make factory buildings in Bangladesh safe’.
H&M and Inditex join co-signatories PvH and Tchibo, which were the first global brands to commit to a binding agreement on building and fire safety in Bangladesh. The leadership of PvH and Tchibo has been vital in pushing for reform in the industry.
Ineke Zeldenrust from the Clean Clothes Campaign says, ‘We now call upon all major brands sourcing from Bangladesh to prevent any more deaths and sign this agreement before the deadline of the 15th. With 1,250 workers killed in the last six months in Bangladesh, it is now time for companies to move beyond vague promises, business-as-usual self-regulatory schemes and rhetoric, and to sign a binding safety agreement that can finally bring an end to the horror in Bangladesh. More than one million global consumers have signed petitions calling brands to take action: All brands should now sign.'
Notes
The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) works to improve conditions and support the empowerment of workers in the global garment industry. The CCC has national campaigns in 15 European countries with a network of 250 organisations worldwide.
For more information on Fire and Building safety and compensation schemes in Bangladesh see the CCC report Hazardous Workplaces, published in 2012.
For more information on The Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement see http://www.cleanclothes.org/news/press-releases/2013/04/29/201cstop-the-killing-act-now201d-clean-clothes-campaign-urges-brands-to-sign-safety-agreement
CCC has been working with partners in Bangladesh to improve fire and safety conditions since 2005, when the Spectrum disaster killed 64 workers. Since then we have campaigned for justice for workers following numerous fire, including Garib and Garib, That's It Sportwear and Eurotex. See http://www.cleanclothes.org/news/2013/04/11/spectrum-collapse-eight-years-on-and-still-little-action-on-safety
For background on the series of the calamities in the Bangladesh garment industry , visit http://laborrights.org/deadlysecrets to download International Labor Rights Forum’s report “Deadly Secrets”.