Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) leaders have expressed satisfaction over the support of Alliance in providing low-interest loans to the apparel makers to execute the remediation process of the garment factories of Bangladesh. Welcoming the loan giving move to remediate their factories in ensuring safety for the workers, BGMEA said that it will help the industry address the safety concerns. The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a platform of the 26 North American retailers has signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to help suppliers finance factory repairs. According to the agreement, the IFC will provide total $50 million, $10 million to each of five Bangladeshi banks for sanctioning affordable loans to factory owners for making necessary safety repairs. As the remediation process is highly costlier, it was difficult for the garment makers to complete the Corrective Action Plan (CAP), said the BGMEA leaders expressing satisfaction that the fund will ultimately help the garment industry as well the workers.“We are pleased to join forces with the IFC to launch this initiative, which promises to provide much-needed support to factory owners, speed up the process of implementing repairs and help protect millions of garment workers,” said Ellen Tauscher, independent chair of the Alliance. “By working together to drive results, we can help an entire industry embrace and implement a new, sustainable standard for safe workplaces,” he added. It was learnt that the factory owners will have chances to re-pay the loan in 3 to 5 years, according to information. The Alliance will provide on-the-ground resources—including a sizable team of qualified inspectors—to monitor that factory owners are making progress toward completion of their CAPs that are provided to every factory and outline the specific fire, structural and electrical repairs necessary to bring factories into compliance with international standards. Timely progress on the CAPs is required under this arrangement in order for factory owners to maintain favorable loan terms, it was learnt. Alliance professionals will also provide technical assistance to banks on the remediation process and facilitate introduction between factory owners and lenders. The Alliance was established following the Rana Plaza incident and has been working for establishing workers’ safety at the apparel industries. The Alliance has already inspected around 1,700 garment factories from which the retailers purchase apparels. Of them, Alliance inspection team, however, found 80,000 types of faults in the factories they inspected. Following the inspection, they prescribed corrective action plan which will ensure the workers safety, the platform hopes.
