The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a consortium of European brands and retailers, on Monday said that it would continue their work in Bangladesh despite the deadly Dhaka restaurant attack in which 17 foreigners were killed. The assurance from the buyers’ forum came after the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, an American brands and buyers group, had made the same commitment on July 13. The Accord and the Alliance, which were formed after the Rana Plaza building collapse in which more than 1,100 people, mostly garment workers, were killed, are working to improve workplace safety situation in the readymade garment sector in Bangladesh. ‘Accord will continue its work like everybody else and we are monitoring and assessing safety situation in the readymade garment factories in Bangladesh,’ Rob Wayss, executive director of the Accord, told reporters before a meeting with BGMEA leaders at the office of the platform in the city. He said it was a regular monthly meeting with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and they hold monthly meetings to discuss safety issues and challenges regarding factory remediation. ‘We are here [in Bangladesh], our staff are here. Regard brands, it is their issue,’ Rob said.Replying to a question, he said that you could have seen several statements from some major brands after the incident that they would remain committed to Bangladesh and they were also monitoring the safety situation. ‘They are expected to continue business here,’ Rob said. Before the meeting with the Accord, BGMEA president Md Siddiqur Rahman said both the Accord and the Alliance are committed to staying with Bangladesh as partners. ‘No buyer or brand is yet to express its mood of leaving Bangladesh, rather most of the buyers are committed to working together to overcome the situation that was created after the July 1 Gulshan cafe attack in which 22 people including 17 foreigners were killed,’ he said.‘Militancy is not a problem only for Bangladesh, but it is a global phenomenon. The government has taken necessary steps to avoid such incident and provided adequate security to the foreigners,’ Siddiqur said. He said that it was too early to make comment that the Gulshan attack would hamper business. Siddiqur termed the Bangladesh Buying House Association’s reaction ‘premature’ saying ‘if buyers cancel business meetings in Bangladesh, we can go to their countries. It does not mean that the buyers will shift their orders.’ Leaders of the Bangladesh Buying House Association on Saturday expressed their apprehension that RMG export orders might drop in summer and fall seasons as ‘buyers are cancelling scheduled business meetings in Bangladesh on security ground.’ ‘For the time being we can go for third countries or buyers’ countries for holding business meetings. It would increase operational cost of our business, but it could not affect the overall business,’ the BGMEA president said.After Monday’s meeting with the Accord, a BGMEA leader said that a senior adviser of H&M, Karl Gunnar Fagerlin, made commitment to continue business with Bangladesh.At the meeting, Accord officials, however, expressed their concerns over the security situation in Bangladesh and they (Accord officials) would meet the home minister today to discuss the issue, he said.
