Bangladesh, retailers agree safety standards for factories

Bangladesh and top Western retailers agreed safety standards covering some 3,500 factories today, paving the way for stepped-up inspections after one of the world's worst industrial disasters.
Retailers, government and union representatives agreed the minimum fire and safety standards for factories where some four million workers stitch clothes for retailers such as Walmart and H&M, officials said.
"This is a very significant development. These common safety standards will now pave the way for the start of factory inspections from Friday," said International Labour Organisation (ILO) official Srinivas Reddy.
The standards are aimed at simplifying inspections and avoiding duplication following the Rana Plaza disaster in April that killed 1,135 people and shone a global spotlight on shoddy conditions at factories.

"Once a factory is inspected in line with the common standards, there will be no need for another initiative to inspect it again," Reddy, the ILO's Bangladesh chief, told AFP.
Retailers and engineering experts from a top Bangladesh university have developed the guidelines which were formally endorsed today, said Reddy from the ILO which helped broker the deal.

US and European retailers signed up to two separate safety pacts after coming under intense pressure in the wake of the April disaster.
The two groups will carry out inspections of their 2,000-odd factories using the new standards, while the government will check about 1,500 factories not covered by the pacts, starting from Friday, Reddy said.

The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which represents the US retailers, announced yesterday it had agreed to the new standards.
"I am encouraged by the progress made in Dhaka this month in the effort to establish harmonised safety standards for the garment industry," said Jeffrey Krilla, head of the alliance group.
Bangladesh's top labour official Mikail Shipar said all the factories would be forced to adopt the standards. Failure to meet them could lead to a shutdown.
"The agreement today forms a major breakthrough which will help ensure the safety of all workers in the garment industry in Bangladesh and prevent tragic events like Tazreen and Rana Plaza from happening again," said Labour Secretary Shipar.