Store giants fail to sign pact on safety levels for factory workers

 
8 July 2013

Some of the high street’s biggest names — including Topshop, BHS, Gap and Asda — have failed to sign a new agreement on raising safety standards at factories in Bangladesh.

Organisers of the so-called accord on fire and building safety there were “disappointed” they were unable to persuade the retailers to join the pact.

It commits retailers using Bangladeshi suppliers to a range of safety improvements over five years, including agreeing to provide up to £330,000 a year for safety and training inspectors.

The move follows the catastrophic Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in Dhaka that claimed more than 1,200 lives last month.

More than 30 top fashion and clothing chains have pledged themselves to be bound by the accord — including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, H&M, Primark, New Look, Mothercare and Zara’s owner Inditex.

But Asda’s US owner Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, declined to join because, it said, its own step-ped-up safety inspections will yield faster results. It also rejected the agreement’s inclusion of “dispute resolution mechanisms”.

Gap also refused to sign over concerns about legal implications of the agreements. A bigger surprise was the absence of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia group, which includes a roll-call of high street names such as Topshop, Topman, BHS and Miss Selfridge.

It had originally indicated it wanted to sign, despite Topshop ordering only £25,000 worth of clothes from Bangladesh so far this year.

However, a IndustriALL, the Geneva-based international union that organised the accord, said: “Arcadia did offer to sign but with conditions and that was not acceptable.”

Its general secretary Jyrki Raina said: “The companies who signed the accord are to be applauded. H&M showed the way by being the first this week.

“We will not close the door on brands who want to join after the deadline but we will forge ahead with the implementation plan from today. Those wanting to join later will not be in a position to influence decisions already made.”

Philip Jennings, general secretary of the UNI global labour group, said: “Walmart is out of step. By not signing up its brand sinks to a new low. Equally, Gap’s refusal to join is a mistake shoppers will not forget. We will make progress without them.”

Arcadia had nothing to add to a statement issued yesterday that said: “To show support for the initiative this accord is proposing, we as a group will be signing up on the condition that we understand the final cost to us, which to date has not been made clear.

“As with any other commercial contract we sign, we reserve the right to review our participation if the accord does not achieve its stated aims in an agreed timescale.”

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