Bangladesh sets minimum standards for factory safety

Washington, D.C. - Earlier this month in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the International Labor Organization (ILO), technical experts from the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, and the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) came to agreement on a common, minimum criterion for fire and structural inspection safety standards, pending a few final modifications.



The Alliance has added 66 additional factories into the publicly released supplier database, bringing the total to 686 Alliance member factories. The list notes factories that also manufacture goods for members of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, and with the new additions, there continues to be an approximate 50% overlap with Alliance and Accord factory lists.



Alliance membership continues to grow, with three new companies joining in the past month. The companies include Australia's The Just Group, Giant Tiger Stores Limited and YM Inc. of Canada. This takes the Alliance membership to 26 member companies. And in November, the Alliance hired staff in Bangladesh, including Managing Director Mesbah Rabin, who brings many years of experience working with ready-made garment factories in Bangladesh. The Alliance expects to officially open its Dhaka office in December.