The garment owners Wednesday denied the Accord provided remediation progress report claiming that the platform of global retailers have not updated the list of the default factories who failed to remediate their buildings to ensure safe workplace. The reaction was expressed at a meeting called by the Bangladesh Garment Manufactures and Exporters Association (BGMEA) with 80 owners, out of 180, who according to the Accord list made less than 10 percent progress in the remediation to improve safety standards to ensure safe work place. The Accord on Fire and Building Safety recently placed a list of 522 members out of 553 factories, to BGMEA, who made less than 40 percent progress in the remediation works. Those factories are producing garments for Accord signatories’ brands’. Shantanu Banerjee, a RMG factory representative said, they have done more than 75 percent remediation work. A representative of Jeans Sweater Pvt Ltd said, they are not engaged with stitching task with any Accord listed brand. “But why did Accord put the factory’s mane in that list?” he questioned. “Accord ever didn’t inspect that factory”, he added. Representatives from three factories said they are trying to relocate their factories. Fashion Linked representative informed that they already have done more than 80 percent progress in resetting the factory. BGMEA vice president Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu conducted the meeting. After the meeting, Babu told daily sun that most of the factory owners differed with the claim of the Accord. “Most of them claimed they have completed more then 60 percent of remediation work,” he said adding that they will now make another list through discussing with Accord.” ‘Now we want to talk with the owners and the representatives of those RMG factories to know the reason behind slow progress’? The outcry over safety issues began after the Rana Plaza factory disaster that killed over 1,135 workers and injured over 2,500 people on April 24, 2013. After the factory disaster, the Alliance made a commitment to provide financial and technical support to improve fire and building safety standard of RMG factories, from which they source products.
