Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)-The Alliance on Friday reiterated its promise to continue its support with all stakeholders who are committed to a safe and prosperous RMG sector in Bangladesh.
The Alliance will continue to collaborate with all stakeholders who are similarly committed to a safe and prosperous RMG sector in Bangladesh and to protecting the lives and interests of garment workers,”said a statement of the North American imports of RMG, on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster.
We continue to work with the government of Bangladesh to implement critical worker safety reforms and to put systems in place that will be necessary to sustain those reforms over the long term,” the statement said.
Marking the world’s worst industrial disaster, the statement said,“We pause today to remember the victims and their families-and to recommit ourselves to ensuring that no garment worker in Bangladesh has to risk his or her life to make a living.”
On this very day in 2013, the eight-storey building, Rana Plaza, collapsed with thousands of people mostly garments workers inside it.
So far, 1,134 garment workers lost their lives in the unspeakable tragedy.
Bangladesh’s ready-made garment (RMG) industry has contributed to unprecedented growth and economic opportunity for millions of people, especially women.
But often, that growth has come at too high a cost to workers and their families, the statement added.
Since our formation in July 2013, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety has made it our mission to ensure that factory workers are provided safe working environments, treated with respect and given the tools they need to advocate for their own health and safety in the workplace, it added.
To this end, we have inspected all factories from which our members source, resulting in the full or partial closure of 19 factories deemed unsafe; worked with factory owners to develop and implement corrective action plans; helped finance the cost of remediation; and provided world-class fire safety training to more than 1.2 million workers.
Today, in honor of the victims of Rana Plaza and their families, the Alliance and our member companies and partners recommit to doing everything we can to prevent a tragedy like Rana Plaza from happening again.
The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (The Alliance; AFBWS) is a group of 26 major global retailers formed to develop and launch the Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative, a binding, five-year undertaking with the intent of improving safety in Bangladeshi ready-made garment (RMG) factories after the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse.
Collectively, Alliance members represent the majority of North American imports of ready-made garments from Bangladesh, produced in more than 700 factories.