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Life-threatening safety concerns are still haunting the garment units inspected by the then western retailers' platform, Accord, as only a fraction has installed fire-detection and alarm system.
Over 80 per cent of the identified safety flaws have been fixed in the last decade, only 27.25 per cent out of 1,700 factories installed fire detection and alarm system until April 2023.
A monthly progress report of the RMG Sustainability Council (RSC) has disclosed these developments.
Some 22.40 per cent completed installation of the fire suppression system until April 2023.
The Accord, a platform of global unions and over 200 EU-based apparel buyers, was launched immediately after the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013, to inspect fire, electrical and structural integrity of local factories.
It inspected some 1,700 factories and monitored initial remediation that prescribed with a timeframe until handover of all activities to the RSC, which has representations from factory owners, in June 2020.
Data shows completion rates of common fire-related remediation items like design approval of fire suppression system, and fire detection and alarm system are 86 per cent and 89.65 per cent respectively.
Meanwhile, 96-per cent factories have removed lockable collapsible gates and 89 per cent have adequate egress lighting in fire exits.
When asked, RSC chief safety officer George Faller cited a number of reasons behind this sloth in the installation of detection and alarm systems.
On the technical side, the building code required these systems but there was little enforcement in the past, he said, explaining that an industry to design and supply these systems did not develop.
Then a new code, which took years for development and caused controversy due to proposed relaxation of the requirement for having to install automatic fire and detection systems, was finally introduced in 2020.
"Accord/RSC never relaxed the requirement to install them, which caused uncertainty for years over the need for them," added Mr Faller.
On the technical side, these are complex systems with many parts, all of which need to be adequately certified.
Alarm and detection systems do not show as 'corrected' until the detailed design has been approved (89.65 per cent approved), checked on site to see that all components agree with the approved design and then the systems are physically tested for performance by engineers.
"It's a rigorous process that both consultants and factory technical personnel are still learning to implement adequately," he observed.
Talking to the FE, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) vice-president Mohammad Shahidullah Azim disagreed with the findings.
He claimed over 50 per cent of the factories have installed the systems, saying that data shows slow progress as it needs to complete all the related designs to be fixed for getting completion certificate.
A recent Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) study shows the Bangladeshi RMG industry benefiting from the improvements made in the area of occupational health and safety in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster, particularly during the tenure of Accord and Alliance.
"However, concern remains for the RMG industry as recently a small increase in accidents and the number of worker deaths in workplace accidents could be observed in the period after Accord handed over the implementation of its programme in Bangladesh to RSC."
The CPD found an increase in the number of accidents that occurred in the RMG industry in the period of recent three years (May 2018-April 2021) compared to the previous three years (May 2015-April 2018).
The slight increase in RMG accidents is also reported by government agencies.
Citing data from BFSCD (2022), the CPD said the number of workplace accidents in the export-oriented RMG units increased to 180 in 2021, which was 177 in 2020.
However, as per media monitoring by the Clean Clothes Campaign, the number of publicly reported workplace accidents has declined to 26 in 2022 compared to 2021's 33 reported accidents in the industry.
As per the data of Safety and Rights Bangladesh (2022), total workplace deaths in the RMG industry in 2017 and 2018 were 15 and 10 respectively.
In the next two years, in 2019 and 2020, the numbers reduced to only two and one respectively.
However, the number jumped to 13 in 2021.
The comparison of the number of workers killed has showed a somewhat deteriorating scenario of the industry's safety status in recent times.
According to the CPD, it is unclear what played a key role in increasing the number of deaths in workplace accidents in the industry.
However, observations and studies are indicative of deterioration in the safety inspection functionality and quality of the inspection authorities, particularly in recent times.
The CPD study suggested reviewing the institutional initiatives of OSH undertaken in the RMG industry.
munni_fe@yahoo.com