Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will raise its concerns over Accord activities, which are alleged to be beyond of its jurisdiction, during a scheduled meeting between the steering committee of Accord and BGMEA to be held in the city today.
During the meeting, the RMG manufacturers platform also will discuss viability of investment for the remediation of apparel factories and implementation of Corrective Action Plans (CAP) prescribed by Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.
BGMEA and Accord Steering Committee will hold a meeting today where both parties will broadly discus the issues and placed their arguments on behalf of their respective organisation, a BGMEA source confirmed the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
According to the BGMEA officials, installation of sprinklers in the RMG factories is not required as per the law of land, which the Accord is prescribing for installation. Formation of trade union in the RMG factory would be as per the country’s laws and it is not a matter of Accord.
On the other hand, the Accord is pressurising the factory owners to make immediate detailed engineering assessment (DEA), which has been labeled as yellow in the inspection but it’s not required immediately as the situation is not so grave, claimed the BGMEA.
The Accord also noses on the workers benefits issues in case of factory closure due to safety concern and relocation, which is supposed to be settled as per country’s laws.
“We will seek assurance of viability of our investments to be done for the remediation work in the days ahead,” BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim told the Dhaka Tribune.
A factory owner has to investment a huge amount of money to implement the corrective action plans as per the prescription of the Accord, said Azim expressing his doubt over the investment return.
The buyers have to ensure their stances about their future work orders and continuation of business relations, he added.
Azim also said: “The BGMEA will also raise the financing issues in the meeting as the retailer platform did not provide any fund for remediation as yet.”
The issues of concerns came under spotlights following the recent comments of Finance Minister AMA Muhith and BGMEA leader’s allegation against Accord’s activities’ beyond its jurisdiction.
In a letter, Industriall and UNI, two global trade unions urged the BGMEA to bring all concerns about the operations of the Accord directly to this dialogue rather than airing them first in the press.
“We urge you to bring all concerns about the operations of the Accord directly to this dialogue rather than airing them first in the press,” said Industriall and UNI Global Union in a letter sent to BGMEA president Atiqul Islam on June 18.
The letter also reads: Rest assured that we remain committed to working towards the sustainability and success of the Bangladesh garment industry and will continue to implement the Accord, without fear or favor, in furtherance of that goal.