The 'Alliance' has shut down its operations in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh as its transitional period ended on December 31.
To this end, the North America-based apparel brands and retailers' platform formally made the announcement on Monday on its official website.
"The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety has ceased operations with effect from December 31, 2018. All emails directed to the Alliance won't be received," according to the platform.
Thanking all for their support for its mission over the past five years, the Alliance said, "We've made quite a difference for thousands of workers in the RMG sector."
"We've hopefully instilled a lasting sense of safety for all of the factories, staff and management involved in the programme," it noted.
Some 29 apparel companies formed the platform in 2013 immediately after the Rana Plaza collapse to improve workplace safety in the RMG industry.
The 'Accord', a platform of more than 200 European Union-based apparel buyers, retailers and trade unions, was also formed with the same purpose of workplace safety improvement.
The Alliance earlier declared to cease operations in Bangladesh on December 31.
From the beginning of 2019, it said, the brands would monitor safety in the factories from where they source apparel through a local company.
Some 700 factories that supply apparel items to the Alliance signatories were inspected by Alliance engineers, according to its final annual report launched last month.
About 93 per cent of the identified flaws have been corrected while 428 factories have completed the required safety remedial work as per the Alliance prescription.
The Alliance suspended business with 178 factories due to their failure to make remediation progress within the set timeframe.
Some 1,600 garment factories have been inspected by the Accord and it recorded that 90 per cent of initially identified safety hazards were fixed.
The EU-based platform, however, wanted more time to stay in Bangladesh as its tenure ended and the issue remained pending with the court.
When asked, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Md Siddiqur Rahman said the Alliance did not have the provision of handing over the responsibility to the state authorities concerned.
The Accord has so far handed over the responsibility of its inspected 100 garment factories to Remediation Coordination Cell under labour ministry, he stated.
Mr Rahman, however, said Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments of labour ministry and Alliance signatories will monitor the post-remediation work in those units.
munni_fe@yahoo.com