It is concerning to note a lack of consensus between the two brand-led stakeholder safety initiatives, Accord and Alliance, on key aspects of their safety inspection programs.
RMG factory owners are continuing to report confusion, which they claim is created by the lack of co-ordination on factory inspections. Some are complaining in particular about conflicting reports received from different inspectors and engineers appointed by the different organisations.
Accord and Alliance were expected to follow a uniform standard for their inspections, so as to reduce confusion and to avoid duplication in inspections for the 300 factories which they are assessing in common. As both groups publish details of their reports on their websites, it is possible more certainty and commonality may emerge over time.
However, this still leaves the question of the increasing amount of money which is being spent on multiple safety inspections.
All stakeholders share a common aim with the government and ILO in seeking to use inspections to improve safety standards throughout the RMG industry.
They must look to the big picture. What matters most for the long-term interests of workers in the industry is that consensus is reached on remediation costs. Achieving consensus on inspection standards can help move this forward.
Inspections in themselves cannot raise standards unless funds are available to invest in remediating problems. The government and stakeholder groups must collaborate better to avoid disputes which reduce certainty. This is essential to allow effort to be focused on securing more funds for remediation and relocation.
