A separate fast track committee should be formed involving local technical experts for fire safety remediation of the country's readymade garments (RMG) industry, as ACCORD is imposing new conditions without obeying the memorandum of understanding (MoU). BGMEA president, Rubana Haque, made the comment while speaking at a workshop on "Fire Safety Issues and Technical Guidelines" organized by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) at Hotel Amari Dhaka, in the capital on Saturday.
She said, “As per the MoU, before imposing any new condition on us, ACCORD needs to discuss with BGMEA, and without our consent, they cannot act solely”.
“Today we attend this workshop to work collaboratively to reach a certain stage to remove disagreements between us because ACCORD cannot take any decision on its own. While the country’s RMG industry is about to reach a certain position as per the Accord requirements to get their certificate, it's unexpected to get new terms and conditions from them,” she further added.
“The protocol that they set on June 29 last is a unilateral decision by ACCORD. It's not good, since 2017, they are putting new findings on us, which is delaying our reaching our goals,” said Rubana. She continued, “as per ACCORD terms and conditions 2013, garment owners have bought required equipment, but now they are again putting new conditions which are hampering the country’s RMG growth”.
According to ACCORD information on remediation, 200 factories have got fire safety certificate so far out of 600 factories over the last six years. The BGMEA president urged ACCORD to stop escalating the procedure, as all the factories are not well equipped, and when other factories reach a certain position as per ACCORD conditions, new conditions will hamper business, thus making the country have a bitter experience.
