Frequently Asked Questions
2018 Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh
The Accord signatories aim to transition the 2018 Accord functions to a national regulatory body when such a body is ready. As such the 2018 Accord will be known as the ‘Transition Accord’.
Currently, 125 global apparel companies and apparel retailers have signed the 2018 Transition Accord.
If it is determined that no such body is ready, the 2018 Accord will be extended for at least another 12 months (taking into account the process of review and handover agreed with the Government of Bangladesh and BGMEA).
The Accord signatories recognize that the Accord model of independent inspections, collective brand leverage, public disclosure, accountability, and bi-partite governance has achieved unprecedented improvements in fire and building safety in the ready-made-garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh.
The 2013 Accord has monitored safety at over 1600 RMG factories in Bangladesh. As of December 2017, over 600 factories have completed 90% or more of their remediation. The Accord Safety Committee and Safety Training Program is underway in more than 800 factories and has reached more than 1,2 million workers.
Whilst the progress is remarkable, much still has to be done to ensure all factories covered by the Accord are made safe and stay safe. This includes completing all outstanding remediation from initial inspections, completing new findings and training and continuous support to ensure effective functioning Safety Committees in all factories.
• Safety committee and safety training in all covered factories
• Training and complaints protocol to cover Freedom of Association (FoA) protections in relation to workers protecting their own safety under the scope of the Transition Accord.
• Workers’ severance payments in Accord related factory closures and relocations;
• Potential, voluntary expansion of scope to related industries;
• Transition of Accord functions to a national regulatory body when such body is ready.
• Release of brand responsibility for inactive factories after 18 months.
• Conditional possibility for signatories who stop sourcing from Bangladesh to terminate agreement.
• Removal of factory tiering;
• Changes to dispute resolution process including option of mediation to make arbitration unnecessary.
• Reference to signatory’s responsibility to assure any intermediaries support the signatory’s efforts to fulfil Accord obligations.
The Transition Accord will continue until a joint monitoring committee (comprised of Accord brand signatories, Accord trade union signatories, BGMEA, ILO and the Bangladesh government) agrees that the stated, rigorous conditions for a handover are met. This joint monitoring body will review the Bangladesh Government’s progress towards meeting these handover conditions on a bi-annual basis.
These rigorous conditions include: demonstrated proficiency in inspection capacity, remediation of hazards, enforcement of the law against non-compliant factories, full transparency of governance and remediation progress, and investigation and fair resolution of workers’ safety complaints. When the joint monitoring committee agrees the conditions for handover have been met, there will be a further transition period of six months, after which the local body would assume responsibility for factories now covered by the Accord. If it is determined that no such body is ready, the 2018 Accord will be extended for at least another 12 months (taking into account the process of review and handover agreed with the Government of Bangladesh and BGMEA).
On February 2nd 2018, the 2018 Transition Accord Interim Steering Committee agreed the following: Pursuant to para 1 of the Transition Accord, signatories to the 2018 Transition Accord may choose to list their suppliers in any of the following categories: i) home textiles; ii) fabric and knit accessories. If a signatory so chooses, it must list all its suppliers in the respective category.
The Accord Training Program will cover the importance of Freedom of Association and the role of industrial relations in ensuring the functionality and empowerment of effective Safety Committees and protecting workers’ health and safety (Art. 12b).
The Accord Steering Committee will develop a Complaints Protocol to ensure that workers’ rights to Freedom of Association are respected in relation to protecting their own safety under the scope of this agreement.
The Accord Safety Committee and Safety Training program includes all employee meetings and informational sessions to inform workers about safe evacuation in case of fire, and to build awareness of the Safety Committee and its members.
The subjects raised in FAQ #9 will be introduced to the Safety Committee and Safety Training program of the 2018 Transition Accord.
If a factory relocates in order to comply with Accord requirements, workers will be given the option to move to the new premises, retaining all current employment benefits, including recognition of length of service. Should a worker be unwilling or unable to continue employment at the new premises due to an unreasonable increase in travel time, the employer will terminate the worker’s employment and the worker will receive full severance benefits (i.e. not just the reduced severance payments allowed under the BLA for relocation situations).
1. Download the 2018 Accord here.
2. Initial every page. Sign and date the final page.
3. Send the signed Accord to:
IndustriALL Global Union: aiwachow@industriall-union.org;
UNI Global Union: adrienne.kirkman@uniglobalunion.org;
Add the Accord Secretariat in copy: signatories@bangladeshaccord.com.
Each signatory company signs the Accord with IndustriALL Global Union and UNI Global Union. After receiving the signed agreement, the global unions and the Accord Secretariat will sign and send a confirmation letter.
Following this process, the Accord Secretariat will conduct an induction to brief the signatory on the implementation and procedures of the Accord and on the functions and support of the Accord Secretariat. For more information, contact the Accord at contact@bangladeshaccord.com.
www.uniglobalunion.org/2018AccordSigners;
www.industriall-union.org/signatories-to-the-2018-accord.
• The factory committed a ‘zero tolerance’ violation of the signatory s policy;
• The signatory has not placed an order in the factory for 18 months and commits not to place an order with the factory for another 24 months;
• The signatory terminates its business relationship with the factory in accordance with the Escalation Protocol.
2013 Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh
Inactive Remediation Fund
General
Band |
Annual FOB US $ Value at Cost Price ex Bangladesh |
Contribution Year 1 (2013/14) |
Contribution Year 2 (2014/15) |
Existing Members Contribution Per Annum Years 3 to 5 (2015/18) |
New Members Contribution Per Annum Years 3 to 5 (2015/18) |
|
7 |
> |
500,000,000 |
500,000 |
850,000 |
383,000 |
500,000 |
6 |
250,000,000 |
500,000,000 |
375,000 |
637,500 |
287,500 |
375,000 |
5 |
100,000,000 |
250,000,000 |
175,000 |
297,500 |
135,000 |
175,000 |
4 |
50,000,000 |
100,000,000 |
75,000 |
127,500 |
57,500 |
75,000 |
3 |
25,000,000 |
50,000,000 |
37,500 |
63,750 |
28,750 |
37,500 |
2 |
10,000,000 |
25,000,000 |
17,500 |
19,750 |
13,550 |
17,500 |
1 |
1,000,000 |
10,000,000 |
10,000 |
17,000 |
7,750 |
10,000 |
0 |
< |
1,000,000 |
1,000 |
1,700 |
775 |
1,000 |
Workers will be notified and will continue to receive salary payments while the building is repaired to standard.
All Companies have equal voting rights and election opportunities for representation on the various working groups of the Accord.