Terming the ongoing remedial work at the country's apparel factories 'slow', the Accord said Thursday only 20 per cent of required safety concerns have so far been addressed at its listed units.
"It is unfortunate to note that the remediation progress is very slow and only 20 per cent of the total identified safety flaws have so far been remedied," Brad Loewen, chief safety inspector of the Accord, said while addressing a press briefing at a city hotel.
The briefing was organised to mark the second anniversary of the Europe- based global apparel companies, buyers and unions initiative.
The Accord has carried out follow-up inspection at some 462 garment factories to date and issued non-compliance letters to some 35 units warning them of severing business ties for their failure to timely address the safety concerns in line with Corrective Action Plans (CAPs), Loewen said.
"But following the warning, all of them have responded immediately with positive note," he added.
He said, "We are pleased to also report that we have verified the first fully-remedied factories - Concord Fashion and Jeacon - where all fire, electrical, and structural safety corrective actions from initial inspections are complete."
Explaining the reasons behind the slow progress in the ongoing remedial work at garment factories, Executive Director of the Accord Rob Wayss said, "There are still lack of understanding about safety remediation requirements particularly about fire alarms and doors."
There are heavy demands for safety equipment in the market that need to import and expertise to install them, he said, adding that the factory management are also responsible for the sluggish progress.
Lots of factories are sincerely executing the Corrective Action Plan (CAP) while a good number of factories are very reluctant to start the remedial work, he explained.
The Accord engineers initially inspected some 1,500 garment factories that ended in September last year and identified some 80,000 safety hazards.
The group has received some 898 CAPs and approved 817 of them while the details about 540 others are posted on its website. It has also updated 224 CAPs after its follow-up inspection reports.
The Accord CSI said they have the capacity to carry out follow-up inspection at 200 factories per month which will be raised to 250-300 to complete the task within next four to five months.
Responding to a query, Mr Rob said they are working with brands and factory owners to collect information on how many factories got support for carrying out the remediation from the buyers.
Regarding the occupational and health safety (OHS) committee at garment factories, he said the Accord is working to launch a pilot programme in this regard.
Some 60 Accord listed factories have registered trade unions and the union representatives will nominate their representatives for the OHS committee while workers will nominate their representatives through election where registered unions are absent.
In next three years, the Accord would work with its signatories and suppliers to complete the remedial work at all the factories and ensure that a functioning safety and health committee capable of maintaining and monitoring safety issues on day-to-day basis is in place at every Accord listed factory, he said.
"This requires a concerted effort from the factories with support from the Accord signatory companies and Accord union colleagues. The Accord team stands ready to support all parties if we hit obstacles in this road ahead," Mr Rob added.
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