The Alliance signatory brands are now working on continuation of workplace safety monitoring of their respective local suppliers collectively or individually after the expiry of the platform's tenure in December this year, sources said.
The platform of 20 North America-based apparel brands and companies has long been pushing the stakeholders to form a safety monitoring organisation to continue with the ongoing safety activities in its listed readymade garment (RMG) factories, they added.
They, however, said that the Alliance might not handover the responsibilities of some of its inspected 600 factories to the government-formed Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC) like the Accord.
The Accord recently started the handing over process through transferring the responsibilities of some 20 of its inspected and fully remediated factories to the RCC, they added.
When asked, Alliance Executive Director Jim Moriarty told the FE last week, "Alliance signatory brands want to be assured that the factories they source from here in Bangladesh remain safe."
There are two ways doing out, he said, explaining that each brand might monitor safety in the factories they source from and that would be very inefficient, expensive and difficult for the factories and brands as they need to bring expertise.
The other alternative is to work collectively, he noted, adding: "It can be brands work together and through some sorts of entity here in Bangladesh to get the assurance of safety conditions in sourcing factories."
Responding to another question about handing over the responsibilities, he said: "We are not a regulatory or governing authority for the Alliance member brands. We are a body that has been set up by Alliance member brands and now helping remediation in factories they source."
The RCC or government can inspect or visit the Alliance-listed factories if they want, Mr. Moriarty added.
After the Rana Plaza building collapse, two platforms-Accord, an initiative of more than 200 brands, buyers and trade unions led by European Union, and Alliance have been formed to improve the workplace safety in the country's RMG factories.
Fire, electrical and structural integrity in some 2,200 garment factories have been assessed by the two platforms, industry people said.
Some 400 out of 600 Alliance-listed factories have completed all the required flaw-fixing remedial works and overall progress reached 91 per cent till September.
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