News

IndustriALL and UNI Global Union, together with NGO partners welcome today’s decision by H&M, Inditex, C&A, Primark and Tesco to commit to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. However they say it’s imperative that other companies sign up too if another Rana Plaza tragedy is to be avoided.

H&M, Inditex, C&A, Primark and Tesco join PVH and Tchibo in signing the Accord prior to the 15 May deadline and setting the example for other brands to follow.

The Accord is a legally binding agreement – between the signatories, and the global unions (IndustriALL and UNI) and numerous apparel unions in Bangladesh. The agreement includes all of the components essential to be effective: independent safety inspections with public reports, mandatory repairs and renovations and a vital role for workers and their unions. The heart of the agreement is the commitment to provide for companies to pay for the renovations and repairs necessary to make factory building in Bangladesh safe, through pricing or other means.

IndustriALL General Secretary Jyrki Raina stated, “H&M, Inditex, C&A, Primark and Tesco are showing the way to the other global clothing brands. In signing this Accord they are committing to working with unions to address the root causes that have created the horrendous working conditions for textile workers in Bangladesh. With this Accord we will make sure that the price paid by workers at Rana Plaza in the biggest single act of industrial homicide will not be forgotten”.

UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings said, “We welcome the decision of H&M, Inditex, C&A, Primark and Tesco to sign and we urge other retailers to follow suit immediately. We call on these companies to do the right thing on behalf of the more than 1,250 textile workers killed in Bangladesh factory disasters in the last six months, including Rana Plaza where the tragedy is still unfolding. This is black and white, life and death.”

The full list of founding signatories and the final text of the Accord will be released on 15 May by IndustriALL and UNI Global Union.

Endorsed by

IndustriALL Global Union

UNI Global Union

Workers Rights Consortium (WRC)

Clean Clothes Campaign

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)





Contacts



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

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