C&A statement on the continuation of the Bangladesh Accord

April 04 2019 - For C&A, a fundamental right of all workers is to have a safe and healthy work environment. Since 2013, C&A has therefore been supporting the Accord with the aim of further improving the building and fire safety situation in Bangladesh textile factories. The Accord is an independent, legally-binding agreement, that aims to create a safe and healthy Bangladeshi ready-made garment industry and to ensure a smooth transition to the Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC), a body created by the Government of Bangladesh that will focus on managing the remediation process for garment factories in the future and therefore eventually continue the Accord’s work. C&A was one of the first signatories of the Accord and has been recognized as one of the brands committed to the success of this initiative and part of its steering committee since inception. In 2017, C&A was one of six organizations selected to help define how to extent the agreement after its five-year anniversary and to make an effective transition to the RCC when this body is completely ready. After the encouraging progress of recent years, C&A is concerned about the uncertainty of the future Accord. Over the previous months, the performance of the Accord has been hampered by a number of court decisions in Bangladesh that remain open. C&A remains deeply committed to the good work of the Accord. As an Accord founding member, C&A firmly believes the Accord is a proven way to improve the Bangladesh apparel industry’s fire, building and electrical safety levels. C&A does not want the Accord to leave Bangladesh until a safe and responsible transfer to the national authority is guaranteed. C&A is certainly aware of the hurdles that all parties involved have to overcome, as the negotiations regarding the graduate transfer of responsibilities to the RCC are ongoing. C&A trusts in the work of the Accord Steering Committee, the Government of Bangladesh, the ILO and strongly hopes the negotiations will lead to a solution that priories the safety of workers. If the ongoing negotiations fail and the Bangladeshi courts decide that the Accord cannot continue until the local RCC is fully operational, C&A would be concerned that this would have an effect on the building and fire safety standards in the country’s textile factories, which would have a significant impact on Bangladesh’s reputation as a safe textile production country and on our sourcing activities from Bangladesh.

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