Leading retail brands are racing to meet tonight's midnight (CEST) deadline to sign up to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. The Accord now covers more than 1,000 supplier factors. These companies have already confirmed their commitment to the Accord:



H&M, Inditex, C&A, PVH, Tchibo, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Primark, El Corte Inglés, Mango, Carrefour, KiK, Helly Hansen, G-Star, Aldi South, Aldi North, New Look, Mothercare, Loblaws, Sainsbury’s, Benetton, N Brown Group, and Stockmann



However IndustriALL, and UNI Global Union who are driving the initiative say there are still some significant omissions to the list, especially in the United States with Gap and Walmart yet to sign. The UNI Management Committee, meeting in Nyon, has released this video to help convince companies they must join the Accord:

UNI Global Union General Secretary, Philip Jennings said, “The clock is ticking for companies such as Gap and Walmart to show they care about their Bangladeshi supplier workforce. Their corporate reputations may be on the line but more importantly, so are the lives and livelihoods of these vulnerable factory workers in Bangladesh. Sign up before it’s too late, save lives and show you are a responsible employer. We are building a momentum for change and it won’t stop here. Many big brands have signed today and we expect more tomorrow.”



Jennings, speaking live on BBC World television at lunchtime, said time is running out for the companies to sign up to the Accord, "We say well done to the companies who have signed up but call on the companies who have not yet signed to do the right thing because its important - lives are at stake. The US is just waking up - retailers there should reach out to us and IndustriALL and our NGO partners and show us they intend to sign before the deadline. I'm not surprised that Walmart has not signed given their appalling track record on labour relations around the world but I am surprised and dismayed that another US retail giant GAP has not yet confirmed its ready to do right by the Bangladeshi factory workers. "



In an interview with CNN, Jennings said, "Don't tell me these companies need more time to sign up. Big business makes decisions every day. On Wall Street decisions are taken in a split second. Big brands have signed up to this agreement in the last few days and the rest should follow as we run down the clock to the Wednesday night deadline."





IndustriALL Global Union General Secretary, Jyrki Raina said, “13 May was an important day in the fight for justice for the 1,127 Rana Plaza victims and hundreds of other garment workers injured and killed in Bangladesh, as industry-leading clothing brands retailers committed to work with us, to stay in the country and get rid of their unsustainable business model of extreme exploitation. A bloody t-shirt is not much cheaper than a clean one.



ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow said, “A host of major global garment brands have agreed to join this agreement, but some have yet to commit. If they really care about the lives and livelihoods of the workers in their supply chains, they should commit to this ground breaking accord instead of remaining behind the façade of sham company-controlled “social auditing.”



In acceding to the binding program of fire safety reforms based on independent inspections, worker-led health and safety committees and union access to factories, signatories commit to underwrite improvements in dangerous factories and properly confront fire safety and structural problems. Importantly the Accord grants workers the right to refuse dangerous work, in line with ILO Convention 155.



The strong expectation for today is that other clothing retailers sign on to the Accord, not least the well known US brands such as GAP. Presently PVH, owner of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein is the only US brand signed up. Companies targeted in Europe include Kik, Carrefour, Next and Marks And Spencer.

Follow the Countdown Clock to Midnight (CEST) May 15 deadline on Twitter #bangladesh @uniglobalunion @PJenningsUNI and UNI Website & Facebook

Read the Accord click on Related Files tab for pdf version.

Contacts

Tom Grinter, IndustriALL, Mobile: +41 79 79 693 44 99, TGrinter@industriALL-Union.org



Richard Elliott, UNI Global Union, Mobile: +41 79 794 9709, richard.elliott@uniglobalunion.org

Endorsed by

International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

Clean Clothes Campaign

Workers Rights Consortium (WRC)

International Labor Rights Forum

Maquila Solidarity Network

SumOfUs.org

Avaaz

United Students Against Sweatshops

War on Want

Credoaction

Causes

Defend Jobs

Home Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF)

Global Monitor

People Tree

Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER)

National Trade Union Federation (NTUF)