Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said Accord and Alliance would not be given any additional time for inspection of garment factories in Bangladesh after the agreement expires in July, 2018. The minister came up with the remarks while addressing the inaugural ceremony of a three-day “Building and Fire Safety EXPO – 2015” at Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the capital yesterday. “Accord and Alliance are trying to extend their stay. But they will not be given a single day, even a second after July 2018,” Tofail said. These are the two platforms of North American and European buyers for ensuring safety in Bangladesh RMG industry. There is a five-year legally binding agreement between them and trade unions to ensure a safe working environment in the industry. The retailers’ initiatives were launched in 2013 after the Rana Plaza tragedy. Tofail said after Tazreen Fire incident and Rana Plaza building collapse, lots of initiatives have been taken to ensure safety of workers. He said to ensure safety in work places, the government has cut import duty to 0% from 52% on fire safety equipment and prefabricated building materials. “But unfortunately, the international community misunderstood Bangladesh. The Rana Plaza tragedy is not the whole picture of Bangladeshi RMG industry.” Talking about the security concerns, commerce minister described Bangladesh as a “safe place and better than others.” “The incidents of murders are also happening in developed countries too, like in Franch, Austrilia and the USA,” he added. BGMEA President Siddiqur Rahman said inspection of RMG factories are over, but the challenge remains with funding for remediation works in factories, especially those of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). He said: “We are confident of completing the works by 2016.” Siddiqur said Bangladesh has already introduced 20 green factories, and the number is expected to stand at 150 by the end of 2016. “With this ‘safe and green’ status, Bangladesh will be able to achieve its $50bn export target by 2021,” he hoped. Ian Spaulding, CEO of Elevate Global Limited, said fundamental changes in the safety of RMG sector have been made. “We will be able to see progress in next three years regarding safety,” he said, adding that “We are already seeing more orders coming from overseas retailers.” He said: “Taking lessons from it, many buyers are applying the strategy in some other countries like Vietnam and Pakistan.” Elevate is the organiser of the safety expo. A total of 18 companies have completed Corrective Action Plans, which is now a full-fledged compliance, said M Rabin, executive director of Alliance. He also said: “Bangladesh is much safer than others.”
