Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)-It is now just over a year since the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory complex in Bangladesh which killed 1,138 people and injured around 2,500 more. In the aftermath, international trade unions Uni Global and IndustriALL worked with unions such as the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) to develop the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, reports The Guardian.

Multinational corporations such as Inditex (which owns Zara) were put under immense pressure to sign the Accord.

Some 160 corporations signed up and the Accord now covers 1,500 factories and has completed its first round of inspections.

This is a serious bit of legislation, which has never been seen before in the fashion industry.

It is a legally binding five-year plan, which commits corporations to disclose which factories they are using.

Yet even with the implementation of the Accord, there is a long way to go before Bangladesh's garment industry becomes consistent with international standards and until workers are fully protected.

Campaigners agree that the key to progress is freedom of association and unionisation of garment workers.

Amirul Haque Amin, president of the NGWF, is adamant that "without unionisation there will not be change in the ready made garment (RMG) sector".

Christy Hoffman, deputy general secretary of UNI Global Union, agrees: "There is no such thing as a truly safe factory without informed and engaged workers on the factory floor with an independent voice to raise problems and enforce solutions."

The population of Bangladesh is approximately 164 million, of which 4 million work in the garment sector.

A new report (pdf) from the International Labour Office states that "96 new trade unions were registered in the RMG sector in 2013, bringing the total number of trade unions in the sector to 222, with 34 trade union federations".

This spike in registrations occurred because of a loosening in restrictions and shows continuing mood among workers to get organised.

But despite a high number of unions in the sector, too few workers are members of one, leaving them vulnerable to workplace abuse and unsafe conditions.

Even a larger union such as the NGWF faces major obstacles: "To register a trade union with the labour department you still have to register a third of the workforce," explains Amirul Haque.

"It is very hard because to start organising in a workplace of 10,000 people, you must sign up 3,000 workers."

Recruiting workers must also remain a largely secret process as trade unionists face harassment, violence and being fired.

Amirul Haque says international trade unions can play a role helping with both long-term capacity building and expanding into new regions.

Hoffman says this is as a key aim of the accord: "The accord envisions that workers will be included in inspections and be trained both in the safety practices and the remediation process. occupational health and safety committees will be created in accord factories. Workers have the right to refuse unsafe work, and this right will be attached to a robust complaints mechanism."

Haque identifies a key difference between the accord and rival agreement, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which is spearheaded by Walmart and Gap: "Workers are at the core of every element of the accord – its negotiation, governance, implementation and enforcement.

In a departure from the past and unlike the alliance, the accord is not a "brands only" or even "multi-stakeholder" initiative. The accord reflects a binding agreement between brands and trade unions (global and local)."

Ian Spaulding, a senior advisor to the alliance, stated via email that work is being done with local trade unions in Bangladesh and that there are trade union representatives on the alliances' board of advisors and subcommittees.

Yet the alliance's leadership is dominated by corporate figures from companies such as Walmart and it cannot be argued that it is worker-led.

John Hilary is the executive director of War on Want, which supports the accord.

Hilary is clear that ensuring trade unions in the Global South can continue their work is crucial and specifies that doing so is "solidarity in action" not charity.

"Combined with campaigns to challenge the brands and retailers that control the global supply chains, local trade union strength is the best hope of securing long-term improvements for garment workers in Bangladesh."

War on Want have been working alongside Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development (Traid) on capacity building in Bangladesh for the past decade. They have also just brokered a deal for the UIA Charitable Foundation (the charitable wing of trade union insurance company UIA Insurance) to provide three years' funding for leadership training specifically for female garment workers in Bangladesh.

Astonishingly, Rana Plaza had been audited twice (by Primark) and both times declared safe.

Only unionised garment workers themselves, supported by global unions and backed up by legislation, can properly ensure Rana Plaza is never allowed to happen again.

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BBN/AS/SS-07May14-3:45pm (BST)