Bangladesh government and readymade garment factory owners have expressed their deep displeasure over a unilateral decision made by the EU brands and retailers to extend the presence of Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh by three years.Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed and law minister Anisul Huq at an emergency meeting with the partners of Sustainability Compact at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Sunday made clear the government’s position on the matter. At the meeting, the commerce minister said that it was not expected that retailers will impose any unilateral decision on a sovereign country, rather the Accord should place a proposal for extending its agreement in the country.Head of delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon, the US ambassador Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat, Canadian high commissioner in Dhaka Benoit-Pierre Laramee, Netherlands ambassador Leoni Margaretha Cuelenaere, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Md Siddiqur Rahman and acting commerce secretary Shubhashish Bose, among others, were present at the meeting.At the OECD Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct in Paris on June 29 the EU retailers and global trade unions announced extension of the agreement on Accord for second term saying that the agreement will enter into effect when the current Accord expires in May 2018.In an e-mail, the Accord steering committee informed the BGMEA about the new deal.The commerce ministry arranged the meeting as the BGMEA leaders informed the ministry that they did not want any unilateral decision on extension of the initiative and requested the ministry to look into the matter.Following the meeting, Tofail Ahmed told reporters that they expressed their dissatisfaction over the latest move of the Accord and urged the ambassadors to convey the message of the government of Bangladesh to the governments of their respective countries. If the Accord wants to work after 2018, they can send a proposal in this regard for the government’s consideration as Bangladesh is a sovereign country, he said.The BGMEA president Siddiqur Rahman said that the unilateral decision could not be the sign of partnership.Without consultation with stakeholders, the Accord cannot extend its timeframe, he said.After getting letter from the Accord on new agreement, the BGMEA opposed the unilateral decision of the retailers’ platform saying that the association has been working closely with the platform for four years and were certain that none would move forward without consultation with the relevant stakeholders in Bangladesh including the manufacturers and the government.
