Originally posted in Dhaka Tribune on 24 April 2023

10 years after Rana Plaza: Changes and challenges

Ten years have passed since the tragic morning of April 24, 2013, when the eight-storey building, Rana Plaza with several readymade garments (RMG) factories inside, collapsed.

The worst industrial accident in history, resulted in the deaths of 1,134 people and thousands of injuries, making workplace safety the burning issue for the industry.

The building in Savar – on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka – also led to many calling for accountability from big brands.

Being the second largest RMG item supplier in the world, more than 300 global brands including Walmart, Zara, H&M, Primark, IKEA and Adidas source RMG products from Bangladesh.

Following the Rana Plaza collapse, the multi-billion-dollar RMG industry adopted the Accord and Alliance to build trust, transparency and a better, more accountable industry.

Did the garment industry get safer?

Since the accident in 2013, the RMG industry of Bangladesh saw a massive shift in workplace safety in the last ten years with the formation of the groundbreaking Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which have assisted factory units to transforming their fire, structural and electrical safety measures.

Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said that the factories are not only safer but also became more modern, energy-efficient and environment-friendly today.

“We have learned a lesson from the Rana Plaza tragedy and are aware of the future course of action to prevent such an incident,” he added.

BGMEA Director Mohiuddin Rubel said that around 4,000 factories were inspected by the government-led National Initiative and the buyers-led Accord and Alliance.

“The tragic building collapse was very unfortunate in the history of this industry. But we have taken that as a turning point and put in an all-out effort to build a safe and sustainable industry,” he added.

“Each factory has spent an average of Tk5 crore on factory renovation, detailed engineering assessment and retrofitting and the factories that had to relocate spent about Tk20 crore on average,” he added.

Global acknowledgement of safety

A recent McKinsey report dubbed Bangladesh’s RMG sector as a frontrunner in transparency regarding factory safety and value-chain responsibility, thanks to the initiatives launched after the Rana Plaza collapse.

Mckinsey also highlighted that more than 1,500 Bangladeshi companies are certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard, the second-highest number in any country in the world.

A recent survey by Hong Kong-based supply chain compliance solutions provider, QIMA, ranked Bangladesh second in “Ethical Manufacturing” with a score of 7.7, only behind Taiwan, which scored 8.

A greener industry

Before the Rana Plaza accident, there were only two green factories in the country. But now, Bangladesh has by far the highest number of green garment factories in the world.

US Green Building Council (USGBC) certified a total of 195 Bangladeshi factories as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Of which, 69 are platinum, 112 are gold, 10 are silver and 4 are certified factories.

Moreover, the highest scorer factory is also from Bangladesh.

BGMEA has been awarded the 2021 USGBC Leadership Award by USGBC for green initiatives in the local apparel industry.

Safety committee

The Accord and Alliance increased workers’ knowledge of their safety and most garment manufacturers established a safety committee following the requirements for compliance.

“The biggest paradigm shift since Rana Plaza has been the safety culture that has been developed through public-private partnerships in the factories,” said Mohiuddin Rubel.

“After the tragic building collapse, the government, ILO, local and international labour federations and brands took unprecedented initiatives through the formation of National Action Plan, Accord and Alliance,” he added.

Strict and safer subcontracting guidelines

The Rana Plaza collapse demonstrated how important the subcontracting issue was. The Ministry of Commerce has since released guidelines for managing subcontracts.

The requirements state that the factories must have an inter-bonding arrangement and be current members of the BGMEA or BKMEA.

If subcontracting is necessary, the original manufacturer will notify the buyer in advance and offer the contact information for the subcontract manufacturers, according to Mohiuddin Rubel.

The rules further stated that only compliant factories would be qualified to perform the work of subcontractors.

Earlier, Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, vice-president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) said that the membership criteria have changed a lot since Rana Plaza and they have almost succeeded in bringing the existing members under compliance.

The guideline for new members is zero tolerance and they are not giving memberships unless it is a 100% compliant factory.

RMG Sustainability Council (RSC)

To carry forward the progress made by the unilateral safety regimes and to establish national monitoring, the RMG Sustainability Council (RSC) was established. It has taken over the monitoring regime as of June 1, 2020, bringing the Bangladesh RMG safety monitoring regimes under one umbrella.

RSC is governed by an equal number of representatives from brands, manufacturers and trade unions. All policies and procedures developed by the Accord, including consensus-based decision-making and standards for all health-safety protocols, have carried over to the RSC.

Rise in export earnings

The apparel industry accounts for more than 80% of the total export earnings of the country. According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and the manufacturers, RMG exports from Bangladesh have more than doubled from $14.6 billion in 2011 to $45.71 billion in 2022.

Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director of the CPD said that there have been tremendous changes in the infrastructure.

“Moreover, the working environment has improved at the factory level and institutional reforms have also been carried out. Due to this, the buyers have confidence in our country,” he added.

Challenges ahead

The above improvements have taken place in the apparel sector in the past ten years. However, there is still room for further development.

Golam Moazzem said that existing safety risks should be mitigated.

He also said that in recent years, the number of accidents in the RMG sector are increasing, and remediations must be regular.

Moreover, there are some areas for improvement in keeping this progress consistent like the lack of efficiency, accountability, transparency and lack of coordination in the activities of RSC.

He thinks there will be risks of major accidents without regular inspection and monitoring.

Labour leader Salauddin Swapan said that the factories have undergone a lot of environmental improvements since Rana Plaza, but it is disappointing that those responsible for the incident have not been brought to justice in the last ten years.

“Moreover, in the tripartite RSC, the workers do not have bargaining power. So, many of their demands are not being met.

“As much as the safety committees were active during the Accord and Alliance, it has somehow faded under the RSC,” he added.

Going forward

Over the past decade, especially in the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster, the RMG industry has seen a radical transformation for the better.

Industry insiders said that the authorities concerned must do their best to not only support the RMG industry to reach its full potential but also work to bring buyers’ attention to the fact that the RMG industry deserves to be paid fairer prices for its products.