BGMEA University of Fashion & Technology (BUFT) and Edusoft Consultants Ltd. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday in Dhaka for a partnership to initiate a comprehensive IT solution to the university campus management system (UCAM). Founder chairman of BUFT trustee board Muzaffar U Siddique and director of Edusoft Consultant signed the MoU on behalf their respective organisations. Apparel makers on Friday expressed the hope that retailers’ grouping, Accord, will hand over its responsibilities to the government agency within the stipulated time. “At a Commerce Ministry meeting yesterday (Thursday), it was discussed that Accord will hand over its safety related activities in the garment sector to the RCC (Remediation Coordination Cell), maintaining proper standard,” said Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). His optimism came at a press conference on the ‘Current State of RMG Sector’ held at the BGMEA headquarters in Dhaka. However, he said, Accord requested the government to extend its tenure for another six month and it will operate as ‘transitional Accord’ instead of the current name during the extension. Accord, a platform of mostly European brands and global unions, has been working in the country for four years and the transitional period might be needed to carry out the hand over process properly, he added. Around 67 factories have received green certificates so far with another 270 in the pipeline, Mr Rahman said, adding the BGMEA currently did not approve the membership of a factory without being compliant. Under the circumstances, the government thinks that the presence of Accord and Alliance, another platform of North American apparel brands, retailers and companies, in the country is not required anymore, he noted. The BGMEA chief also said that more than 80 per cent of Accord’s tasks have been accomplished, while Alliance has already informed the government not to continue after the expiry of its tenure in the next seven months. In reply to a question about the capacity building of the cell, he said that the government has made a commitment to the BGMEA that the RCC will be able to operate in time once it takes over the responsibilities from Accord. Mr Rahman also said if the government, Accord signatories, and other stakeholders were satisfied with the work of the cell, which would be monitored by a committee, the ‘Transitional Accord’ will hand over all the responsibilities to it wrapping up its operation in the country. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed on Thursday, after a meeting with a visiting Accord delegation, said the activities of Accord might be extended initially for six months on the basis of the recommendations of a committee to be formed with the representatives from the government, the BGMEA, the International Labour Organization, global apparel brands and rights groups. The committee will be formed shortly to review Accord’s progress in January 2018. However, the committee will sit again by May 31 next to review its activities and decide whether further extension was required or not. The cell has been established under Labour Ministry, which will mainly looks into the safety and other related issues beyond 2018. Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and Alliance for Bangladesh Workers Safety were formed immediately after the Rana Plaza building collapse to ensure workplace safety in the country’s RMG sector. IndustriALL Global Union and UNI Global Union and some Accord existing signatories’ brands signed a fresh agreement in June last titled ‘the 2018 Bangladesh Accord’ to extend the platform’s activities in the country for three more years. Under the first Accord, engineers carried out fire, electrical and structural safety inspections at more than 1,800 factories, identifying 118,500 hazards. Meanwhile, Alliance inspected around 600 units and their remediation progress was over 80 per cent. Some 1,500 garment units that remain outside of Accord and Alliance purview have been inspected under the National Initiative. And only 25 per cent flaws have been remediated under this government-ILO joint initiative.
