North American retailers to improve Bangla factory safety

11 Jul '13

7 min read

Program Funding: Each member of the alliance contributes a specific amount to support the initiative. The amount is based upon the amount of production each company has in the country, with companies with the higher levels of production paying $1 million a year for five years. Currently, the alliance safety fund is $42 million and growing, and the alliance will designate 10 percent of the fund to assist workers temporarily displaced by factory improvements or in the event of a factory closure for safety reasons. The funds also will support the selected non-governmental organization (NGO) that will implement components of the program. The NGO will be on the ground in Bangladesh and will be selected within the next 30 days.

Supporting Improvements at Factories: Collectively, individual retailers have committed over $100 million in funding for low-interest loans and affordable access to capital in order to ensure repairs at factories they work with are made in a timely manner.

Increased Involvement with the Bangladeshi Government: Using the collective power of the industry, the alliance is also committed to forging a stronger partnership with the Bangladeshi government to ensure lasting infrastructure and industry improvements are realized in order for the industry to continue to thrive. The alliance will work with the government of Bangladesh and its industry groups, worker rights organizations and others who support safer factory working conditions to coordinate the initiative’s activities with the National Tripartite Plan of Action (NAP) on Fire Safety for the RMG Sector in Bangladesh.

In the letter from the CEOs, the top retail leaders added: “We believe the partnership and collaboration are critical to our success. We are committed to working with other global brands in order to achieve swift change. We’ll use the power of the newly created alliance to find other sources of funding to support additional infrastructure improvement, including working closely with government agencies around the world.”

During the development of the initiative, Senators Mitchell and Snowe, at the request of the alliance, solicited input from involved parties including the ILO, the Ambassador of Bangladesh to the United States, U.S. Bangladesh Advisory Council, and U.S. Department of State, and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to assist in the design of the program.

“This process was driven by the shared desire to achieve tangible and durable change and intense debate about how best to accomplish it,” added Jason Grumet, president of the Bipartisan Policy Center that oversaw the convening. “The resulting alliance provides a way for all concerned parties — international buyers, Bangladeshi factory owners, and workers’ organizations, the Bangladeshi and other governments — to improve conditions on the ground.”

Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety

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