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UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings urged union leaders gathered at the TUC Congress to back calls for eight UK brands to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.

The Accord was initiated by UNI Global Union and IndustriAll earlier this year following the Rana Plaza tragedy in which 1,133 Bangladeshi workers died. 86 multinational companies have already signed up but eight more based in the UK, including Matalan, River Island, and Republic, are yet to commit.

"The shoppers at Matalan, River Island and these other brands will not easily forget if they fail to act responsibly. The lives and livelihoods of Bangladeshi garment workers are at risk. We, the labour movement, will not desert them. Sign up stay the course with us."

Jennings speech followed that of the President of the Bangladeshi National Garment Workers Federation, who had earlier warned a repeat of this year’s Rana Plaza factory collapse was possible unless more brands signed the accord designed to protect Bangladeshi workers.

“On behalf of the Bangladeshi garment workers I am asking you, please, raise your voice and send a very clear message to the eight companies to stop killing workers, end the death traps, come forward and sign the Accord, and ensure a safe workplace for Bangladeshi garment workers,” Amirul told the Congress.

Amirul thanked UNI and all retail unions and workers for supporting the accord and for bringing global brands into the process, saying UNI’s engagement had been “critical”.

Recent amendments to Bangladesh’s Labour Act fall well short of international standards and could put workers’ lives at risk, unions have warned. The amendments fail to protect workers’ rights to freedom of association which could make it increasingly difficult to negotiate for higher wages and safer, fairer working conditions.

TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said: 'Rana Plaza was an entirely preventable disaster and leading names on the UK high street must not be allowed to shirk their responsibilities. The health and safety of workers in their overseas supply chains should be their top priority, and not a secondary concern to profits.

"The collapse in Dhaka highlighted once again why we need strong unions and what happens when workers don't have a voice at work.

"It is essential we keep up the pressure on those retailers refusing to sign the accord. Consumers can play a big role by writing to these companies."