The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a group of major North American apparel brands, has appreciated Bangladesh’s progress in improving fire safety standards in its major garment sector but said the sector needs to continue to implement reforms , reports UNB. The renewed concern has come in the wake of Tuesday’s fire incident in the Matrix Sweater Ltd. factory in Gazipur, which sources garments for members of both the Alliance and the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a separate group of major European brands. Five workers were injured as they attempted to extinguish the fire after it broke out before the day’s morning shift began on Tuesday. Fire fighters needed hours to bring the blaze under control. In a statement, the Alliance said on Tuesday that while there were no casualties and only minor injuries in the fire, this incident underscores the importance of the ongoing work to remediate factories to meet international safety standards, and to push factories that are moving slowly to accelerate their remediation progress. “While much progress is being made in Bangladesh ready-made garment factories, this fire highlights the need for continued, collaborative efforts to ensure that all factories are thoroughly remediated, with the greatest possible emphasis on empowering workers with the safety training they need to respond in an emergency,” it said.
