Accord, a platform of western buyers, has agreed to leave Bangladesh in phases with a view to having a successful end to its ongoing workplace safety activities in the country’s readymade garment sector.The buyer’s platform also decided to start handing over its responsibilities to government from October 15, their people involved with the process.According to the plan, initially, the platform will hand over 25 garment factories that have already completed their remediation.They took the decision after a meeting with the Transitional Monitoring Committee (TMC) at Labour and Employment ministry in city on Tuesday headed by its secretary Afroza Khan.Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Siddiqur Rahman and its Director ANM Saifuddin, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Vice President Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, International Labour Organization (ILO) Country Director Tuomo Poutiainen and representatives from brands, trade unions attended the meeting.“Accord will start the handover process from October 15 with transferring documents of some 25 garment factories to Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC),” a meeting source told the daily sun.A seven-member committee will be formed to oversee the activities of RCC whether it is functioning efficiently and transparently. The committee will submit report to the TMC, which will decide the next course of action.All stakeholder like DIFE, BGMEA, BKMEA, ILO will have a member in the committee headed by RCC project director, while Accord will have two members. Accord, an alliance of more than 200 global apparel brands, retailers and rights groups, so far inspected fire, electrical and structural integrity in some 1,600 garment factories.
