Accord Response To Reuters’ Article June 24, 2014 “Insight – Inspection Tensions Add To Bangladesh Garment Industry’s Woes”

The Agreement on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (the Agreement) has noted the Reuters article June 24, 2014 entitled "Insight - inspection tensions add to the problems of the garment industry in Bangladesh." The agreement would like to correct two totally inaccurate representations made in the article about the quality of inspections and the obligation of the Accord signatories brands to financially support remediation.



Inspection teams consist of highly Accord professional engineers internationally recognized conducting their work very seriously. The Agreement states that Reuters was given the opportunity to accompany an inspection visit and see how the inspection teams work. The Reuters reporter confirmed refused to appear.

Recommendations to temporarily suspend production and disposal of a factory building inspected are not taken lightly, however, the agreement is committed to ensuring that workers are out of unsafe, as soon as possible buildings. If through a safety inspection professional Security Chief Inspector considers a factory to be structurally unsafe, you should make an immediate effort to evacuate the building, in the interest of worker safety.

When presented credible information that can change the initial assessment of the structural integrity of a building, the Security Chief Inspector Accord has been willing to reconsider the recommendations of the Accord. The suggestions in the Reuters article that this process is "irregular" and inspectors are "trigger happy" in no way do justice to making thoughtful decisions by the Chief Inspector of Security Accord, which is constantly evaluating the interest of safety of workers while recognizing the consequences of temporary suspension of production.

A second misinterpretation Article is related to the obligation of the Accord brands to ensure sufficient funds available for remediation. This affects both necessary to comply with health and safety requirements (Article 22) improvements and continuous payment of wages during renovations (Article 13). Article 22 of the Agreement explains that the remediation support obligation can be met through the negotiation of commercial terms that make it economically viable or through other measures (such as loans) to ensure the factory has the capacity to meet the requirements. The article also erroneously suggests that the primary requirement of the Agreement signatory’s brands is only participate in a discussion. As noted above, the requirement is much larger

The Accord will investigate the allegations made in the article concerning the forgoing its signatories to meet their obligations to financially support remediation companies. The Agreement also continues to monitor the implementation of corrective action plans and all other commitments under the agreement.