Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz and other western brands have been accused of failing to fulfil commitments made after the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster to ensure that the Bangladeshi factories making their clothes are safe. International labour activists say efforts to guarantee Bangladesh factory buildings are structurally sound and meet fire safety standards are lagging far behind schedule. Unions are now initiating a formal complaint against H&M and some other major brands to account for the slow pace of progress in their supplier factories, the first step in a complaint process that could lead to unprecedented arbitration. “The pace of remediation is too slow, and we are committed to ensure that it gains in speed,” said Ben Vanpeperstraete, supply chain co-ordinator of IndustriALL Global Union, which represents workers’ interests as part of the Bangladesh Accord on Building and Fire Safety. “We want to make sure the brands have lived up to their commitments.” H&M said it had taken rectifying safety hazards at factories “very seriously”, but admitted progress had been delayed by difficulties importing equipment, such as fire doors and sprinklers, and a shortage of requisite professional expertise in Bangladesh. Rob Wayss, executive director of the accord’s Bangladesh operations, said such explanations — while once true — had become “less valid and more tired” of late.