A target date for the official incorporation of Bangladesh's new workplace safety initiative, the national RMG Sustainability Council (RSC),has been set for Nov 25, reports just-style.
The RSC will eventually take over all of the functions, staff and infrastructure of the Bangladesh Accord. But it has been emphasised to just-style that on Nov 25 it will just be registered as a legal entity, and the Accord will continue its operations in the country until the end of May 2020 at which point it will transition its function to the RSC.
Representatives of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Steering Committee of Accord on Fire and Building Safety met in Bangladesh this week to discuss a range of issues to ensure a smooth transition of the Accord and its functions (related to inspections, remediation, training and safety complaints mechanism) to the RSC.
Described by the two parties as an "unprecedented national initiative," the RSC will act as a tripartite compliance and safety monitoring body working to "unite industry, brands and trade unions to ensure a sustainable solution, based on a unified compliance standard, to carry forward the significant accomplishments made on workplace safety in Bangladesh." The organisation will also cover industrial relations, skill development and environmental standards.
The establishment of the RSC was agreed in a memorandum of understanding(MoU) in May this year, according to just-style.
The Accord will now work with the BGMEA unit placed in its offices as per the signing of the MoU in May to prepare a Transition Agreement.
"The BGMEA and the Accord look forward to continuing the constructive discussions that took place over the last two days and commit to work together to ensure that RMG factories in Bangladesh are made safe and stay safe," the parties said in a joint statement.
"The RSC will ensure that the progress made on factory safety in Bangladesh will continue, and it will play an important part for well-functioning industrial relations," says Christina Hajagos-Clausen, IndustriAll textile director and member of the Accord Steering Committee.
ZM Kamrul Anam, general secretary of IndustriAll Bangladesh Council, adds: "It is important that unions, employers and brands together continue the work of improving worker safety and a smooth transition of the Accord principles into the RSC."