IndustriALL and UNI Global Unions have sought Bangladesh Prime Minister's direct intervention to resolve the impasse over the Accord's extension.
The impasse was created due to the failed negotiation among the Accord, government and employers' organization - Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), they said.
"Closing the Accord office prematurely would have immediate negative and damaging consequences," reads a letter they sent to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 05.
A substantial number of factories that have not completed remediation work would no longer be eligible to produce for the Accord-member brands, GSP benefits would be put at risk, and the viability of brands placing orders in Bangladesh RMG factories would be in doubt, they added.
"We urge the Bangladesh government to end the uncertainty caused by failed negotiations and more court-mandated time extensions, and to come to the table with a real commitment to a credible and responsible transfer of Accord functions based on genuine readiness of the government to take over," global trade unions said.
Expressing concern in the letter, they said that the Bangladesh government continues to insist that the Accord leave Bangladesh by a fixed date, regardless of whether there is a safety authority to replace it.
Since June 2017, the Accord Steering Committee has been intensively engaged with the government and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) but these discussions have not led to any agreement on a responsible and credible transfer of Accord functions, the letter reads.
In light of this failure, the Appellate Court has ordered the parties to continue the discussions to reach a resolution and ordered a further extension to 7 April 2019, it added.
Citing the latest fire at Chawkbazar in Dhaka the rights groups said that it is a tragic confirmation that a strong safety regime that is adequate to protect workers' lives is still to be built in Bangladesh.
They also expressed concern over the issue as no reports on factory remediation progress or follow-up inspections have so far been published while remediation deadlines for factories inspected by the national initiative have passed, in some cases by years.
Mentioning insufficient progress on transparency, no enforcement of inspection or remediation, mistakes in corrective action plan and a 29 per cent remediation progress reported by the Bangladesh Sustainability compact partners, they reiterated that Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC) under Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) is not yet prepared.
Under these circumstances, a strictly time bound transition of Accord safety operations to an organisation which is still building its capacities could endanger the workers' lives, the unions added.
"We need to break the impasse and reach a resolution on the Accord transition that can be jointly presented to the Appellate Court at the 7 April 2019 hearing," they said, seeking the Prime Minister's direct intervention in resolving the impasse.
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