Factories in Bangladesh losing foreign monitors

DHAKA, Bangladesh — A group set up by European clothing brands that has monitored factory safety in Bangladesh for years plans to leave, with its duties being assumed by a local group including unions and industry figures in the world’s second-largest garment manufacturer.

The European group and a separate North American group were formed after the collapse of Rana Plaza, a building housing five garment factories that made clothing for international brands. The collapse in 2013 killed at least 1,134 people and was one of several fatal accidents in the country’s garment industry that were blamed on safety lapses.

The uproar that followed the collapse prompted about 190 European brands, including Marks &

Spencer, H&M, Tesco and Carrefour, to form the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.

The Accord’s departure, which officials said last week was planned for May, follows a protracted tussle with garment manufacturers who wanted Bangladesh’s government to form a local watch group to monitor the sector.

The new council will operate within Bangladesh’s regulatory framework and cooperate with the government, a joint statement from the Accord and the BGMEA said. “It will retain all health and safety inspections and remediation, safety training and complaints handling functions currently carried out by the Accord,” it said.

The Accord existed alongside another monitoring group for North American brands called Alliance. It left the country on Dec. 31, 2018, as scheduled after inspecting about 1,000 factories.

The Accord’s tenure originally expired in 2018, but the group wanted to stay under some conditions against the will of the government and the garment manufacturers. It went to court and obtained an extension until Feb. 13, 2020.

Bangladesh has about 4,500 garment factories employing about 4 million workers, mostly women from rural Bangladesh.