The Accord, the inspection agency of more than 200 retailers and brands, has started handing over the remediated factories to the Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC) as they have fully fixed structural, fire and electrical loopholes. Rob Wayss, executive director of the local operations of the Accord on Building and Fire Safety in Bangladesh, gave away 100 fully remediated factories to the RCC on Tuesday, said the cell in a statement. The Accord will hand over all the remediated factories to the RCC in phases as the newly formed entity will monitor the progress of the remediation after the departure of the Accord as well as the Alliance, another garment factory inspection body. The Accord has been inspecting and remediating more than 1,600 garment factories to strengthen workplace safety through fixing structural, fire and electrical loopholes. Initial remediation at 90 percent has been completed in all Accord-covered factories. Of them, 188 factories completed remediation fully as of December 15, according to a statement from the Accord. Among the major loopholes, 97 percent of the Accord factories lacked safe means of egress. Locked gates, storing of materials blocking exits and inadequate exit lighting were the most common forms of hazards. Some 91 percent of factories required an adequate fire detection and alarm system. The Accord will operate under a new name — Accord 2018 — if the tenure is extended by the court as the term of the current Accord will come to an end. A total of 192 international retailers and brands have signed the Accord 2018 up to November this year. The agency is seeking extension for another three years to 2021. Last week, the government set eight conditions for the extension of the tenure for six months. As per the conditions, the Accord will hand over the factories to the RCC in the final extended tenure and will not be able to sever business ties with any companies. The Accord and its signatories will follow a common standard of safety inspection and the agency will not conduct any duplicate inspection with the Alliance. The Supreme Court last week fixed January 21 for hearing on the Accord’s plea seeking extension. The court deferred hearing on the plea four times since November 29. In May, the government extended the tenure of the Accord for six months to November 30.
