Initiative for Compliance and Sustainability (ICS), a French audit company, has called upon the government for extension of Accord's tenure to ensure successful handover of the leadership to local authority - Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC).
ICS is a multi-sectoral initiative of social and environmental audits, including textile and clothing, which works in more than 60 countries to improve working conditions along global supply chains.
ICS in a letter to the Prime Minister placed the demand last month on behalf of 20 France-based apparel brands and retailers, including luxury department store chain Galeries Lafayette Group, that source apparel items from Bangladesh and also members of the company.
"We fear that the safety of Bangladesh ready-made garment (RMG) workers could be compromised, if an effective structure is not in place for complete handover of responsibility," ICS said in the letter.
Accord was formed by more than 200 global clothing brands and trade unions for five years, immediately after the Rana Plaza building collapse, to improve workplace safety in local RMG industry.
Its tenure ended in last June, and was extended until November 2018. The issue is now pending with High Court.
Terming the creation of Accord to regulate safety in RMG sector 'a foundation stone' for an effective national safety monitoring, ICS said still more works need to be done to complete remediation in factories.
Less than half of all the Accord-covered factories have completed installation of adequate fire detection systems and less than 60 per cent have completed structural retrofitting, based on approved detailed engineering assessments (DEAs), it mentioned.
"Having closely monitored the ongoing transition process from Accord to RCC, including the recent succession of hearings and restraining orders issued by High Court, as well as the publication of several reports investigating the state of readiness of the newly-founded RCC to take over Accord missions, we are concerned that all conditions that would allow for a smooth, safe and efficient shift from one system to the other, are not currently met."
According to the ICS letter, further efforts are necessary to absorb the work of Accord into RCC and for successful development of the local authority.
There is a clear benefit to everyone - Bangladesh, global RMG industry and the workers in local factories - to continue and deepen this successful partnership that has delivered such fundamental positive change, the audit company mentioned.
"We respectfully call upon all the parties involved to work together, to take all necessary steps to find solutions to the current challenges that this partnership is facing, so that Accord may continue to contribute effectively to the growth and development of RMG sector in Bangladesh and to assist the eventual role of RCC in taking over the leadership of this work under the guidance of Transition Monitoring Committee," it added.
Bangladesh fetched US$1.85 billion from apparel export to France in last fiscal year (FY), 2017-18. The RMG export earning from France stood at $990.49 million during the first half of this FY, 2018-19, according to official data.
