Apparel manufacturers have expressed their concern again over the post-inspection factory remediation issue as business of all factories of a group is being terminated due to lack of compliance by only one unit of the same group, industry insiders said. They raised the issue in several recent meetings, prompting Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) to seek a review on the escalation process of Accord — the western retailers’ group. In a recent letter to the steering committee, the BGMEA also requested not to declare all the factories of a group noncompliant due to fault in only one factory, sources said. The Accord has so far terminated business with a total of 55 local readymade garment (RMG) factories — five groups having a total of 18 factories are included in the list — apparently triggering a fresh debate over the issue. The termination was applied to all factories of Victory Group, Kems Group and Smart Group, and all factories of the owners of Jaycee’s Apparels Ltd and Sincere Knit. Mahmud Hasan Khan, vice president of BGMEA, said the Accord can take action against the factories having faults and, the ones those failed to remediate due to reasons, included housed in a rented or shared buildings, different managements of building and factory and non-availability of necessary fund. “But they cannot take action against all the factories of a group due to non-compliance in one factory,” he added. Regarding Joycee’s Apparel, the Accord in a statement said: “The Accord signatory companies using this factory, as of November 22, 2015 are therefore required to terminate their business relationship with this supplier and all factories it operates.” The group inspected the structural, electrical and fire safety in some 1,600 factories from which its members source. Each factory is then provided with a corrective action plan (CAP) designed to help it address safety issues and achieve compliance with their respective safety standards. If a supplier fails to implement the Accord’s corrective actions and cooperate fully in the Accord’s inspection and related programmes, business with it will finally be terminated. Before the final termination, Accord issued notices and warning letters. At the advisory committee meeting held in August last, Roger Hubert of H&M opined that there is logic to the current application of Accord’s article termination if it is known that the owner is same, but it is more complicated in cases where there are other factories with part ownership. Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) representative Sultan Ahmed in the same meeting also viewed that the termination should not be applied to all factories of the group or same owner. He further said that it should not be applied to all factories if the terminated factory paid full severance and termination benefits to the affected employees. A representative of buying agents stated that the termination should not be applied to all factories of the same owner or group. When asked, Accord executive director Rob Wayss told the FE that this is currently the decision of the Steering Committee, which discussed the issue in its meeting last week. The Accord is obtaining a legal opinion on this, he said. The Accord has already received the draft and waiting for the final ones, he added.
