Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo said Tuesday it had so far declined to sign up to a new safety pact for Bangladesh’s disaster-hit garment factories as the US urged brands to help improve workers’ conditions.
US retailers such as Gap and Walmart have already refused to sign up to the “Accord on Fire and Building Safety” which has been promoted by workers’ rights groups.
European brands such as H&M, Zara, Marks & Spencer and major supermarket buyers have committed to the agreement and its fire and building inspection regime in the wake of last month’s garment factory tragedy.
“We are continuing to study whether to sign (the deal). We have not reached a conclusion at the moment,” said a spokesman for Fast Retailing, which owns the Uniqlo brand.
“While giving it serious consideration, we have started doing what we can do now,” the spokesman said in Japan, adding the firm had this week begun checks on fire prevention and other safety measures at its Bangladeshi suppliers.
More than 1,100 workers were killed when a building housing several factories collapsed last month in Savar just outside the capital, highlighting the poor safety record of the world’s second-biggest garment exporter after China.
A visiting United States delegation to the capital Dhaka urged Bangladesh to learn the lessons from its tragedy and undertake a “transformation” in the industry.
US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman also said brands had a “critical role” to improve an industry plagued by accidents and “sweatshop” conditions for workers, who are paid less than $40 a month.
“Absolutely the buyers have a critical role. We will continue to work in every way to get the buyers to come to the table and every appropriate way to play the part that they must play for a sustainable solution,” she said Monday.
Francois Zimeray, France’s ambassador for human rights who ended his two-day visit to Bangladesh on Tuesday, also called on retailers to face up to their responsibilities.
“We must put an end to the era of fashion cynicism. In terms of industrial responsibility, the Savar tragedy is a watershed in the garment sector like the Bhopal disaster in the chemical industry,” he told a press briefing.
Zimeray, who held talks with the government, unions and victims of the tragedy, asked the brands whose labels have been found in the rubble of the nine-storey factory complex to pay compensation to the victims.
International workers’ associations such as Swiss-based UNI and IndustriALL Global Union have pressured Western retailers to sign up to the legally binding Accord on Fire and Building Safety.
IndustriALL’s Bangladesh affiliate, the National Garment Worker Federation, criticised Uniqlo’s delay in making a decision, saying it was an “irresponsible move from a very responsible company”.
“By not signing the agreement, Uniqlo is sending a wrong message to their consumers that they are indifferent to workers’ safety in Bangladesh,” NGWF president Amirul Haque Amin told AFP.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, which represents 4,500 garment factories, has welcomed the agreement as “a reflection of Western retailers’ long term commitment to Bangladesh”.
It says retailers accounting for about half of the country’s $20 billion apparel sales have now signed up. Walmart, which accounts for 10 percent of orders in Bangladesh, is the most significant player to opt out.
Uniqlo not ready to join Bangladesh garment safety pact
