Consortium of European retailers, Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh has reportedly terminated business relations with some more readymade garment manufacturing factories in Bangladesh as they have failed to implement workplace safety measures at their units.
The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, in a statement reportedly underlined that the Accord signatory companies cut their business relations with the factories due to their failure in implementing workplace safety measures and with the other as its authorities refused to allow access to Accord inspection teams to do the follow up inspection.
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The RMG factories with whom the consortium of European retailers has severed business ties are Calvin Fashion Limited (Chittagong), Alpha Knit Apparels Ltd. (Ashulia, Dhaka), Copper Co. Ltd. (Chittagong), Jaycee’s Apparels Ltd. (Moghbazar, Dhaka Export Processing Zone) and Sincere Knit Garments Ltd. (Unit 1— Fatullah, Narayanganj). Earlier, the Accord terminated business relations with three factories, namely Sadaf Fashions Ltd., Mega Chois Knitwear Ltd. and Florence Fashions Ltd., due to their failure in implementing corrective action plan timely.
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The retailers’ consortium in its statement further added that Alpha Knit Apparels Ltd., Calvin Fashion Limited and Sincere Knit Garments Ltd. were inspected for fire, electrical and structural safety by the retailers’ group in 2014. However, after many attempts by the Accord staff the factories failed to submit a corrective action plan, while, the Copper Co. Ltd. was inspected in 2014 and the factory management did not allow access to Accord inspection teams to do the follow up inspections at the factory on in February this year. The structural integrity of Jaycee’s Apparels Ltd. was inspected in August 2014 and the factory authorities were was asked for conducting detailed engineering assessment of the building as the inspectors found major concerns with the structure. Later, the factory failed to conduct detailed engineering assessment and refused the Accord to conduct initial fire and electrical inspections in the unit.
