“Press Release: RMG Industry brands, manufacturers, and unions launch joint RMG Sustainability Council (RSC) in Bangladesh to sustain workplace safety”, 1 June 2020

Ready-Made-Garments (RMG) manufacturers, global brands and retailers, global unions and their Bangladeshi affiliates have established…the [RMG Sustainability Council (RSC)]. [Continuing]…with factory inspections, remediation monitoring, safety training and an independent safety & health complaints mechanism available to [RMG]…workers, the functions of the Bangladesh offices of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety…have [also] transitioned to the…RSC. The RSC aspires to also encompass industrial relations, skills development and environmental standards.

More than 1200 Accord covered factories have completed more than 90% of the remediation of their Corrective Actions Plans. Through the work of the RSC, covered factories will be able to complete their [Plans] and ensure that all outstanding safety issues are remediated and verified…and that…factories are equipped and empowered to monitor and address workplace safety on a daily basis.

[O]ne of the first issues [the RSC] will need to address is the safe resumption of the office and field based work of its mandate. The RSC further urges all re-opened RMG factories to implement necessary measures to mitigate COVID-19 exposure and keep the factory workers as safe as possible. The RSC is confident and hopeful that its unique structure and commitment to collaboration will further advance a safe, healthy, and sustainable RMG industry in Bangladesh which can serve as a model for the world.