A delegation of the US-based national retail federation (NRF) went back from Bangladesh recently, with a positive outlook on the progress being made to safeguard workers and improve working conditions.The progress has been observed since the initiatives taken after the 2013 Rana plaza building collapse that killed more than 1100 workers“We saw firsthand in the past few days that significant progress has been made to improve conditions at factories in Bangladesh and that work is on track to see more improvements in the future,” David French, NRF senior vice president for government relations, said, according to Associations Now magazineDuring a week-long trip that took French and NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy Jonathan Gold to China and Vietnam, in addition to Bangladesh, the pair reportedly toured factories and ports and met local stakeholders and Alliance executivesTwo years ago, the NRF partnered with global retailers and other associations to build the Safer Factories InitiativeIn a report released after the visit, the alliance said its efforts have led to 661 factory visits, 591 approved corrective plans, and 6,177 payments to displaced workersIn addition, as of July, 528 factories have completed at least one remediation visit. Those visits are a three-step process to ensure that fire prevention measures, structural changes, and other infrastructure issues have been identified, remedied, and approved by the Alliance, according to the reportJust six factories have passed their final inspection, so the work on the remediation process is only just beginning, said the alliance report“The Alliance will work with the government of Bangladesh, donor governments, and all stakeholders to develop a plan to sustainably transfer our work to the responsible ministries, departments, and other groups at the appropriate time,” independent chair Ellen O’Kane Tauscher ’wrote in the Alliances report.
