Enhanced prgramme fr mnitring and remediatin in Bangladesh Specific risks fr the garment sectr in Bangladesh In Bangladesh, the garment sectr is the main cntributr t ecnmic develpment, as it is respnsible fr 80% f the cuntry s exprt. Its cmpetitive advantage depends heavily n lw prductin csts. The garment industry ffers many pssibilities fr lcal entrepreneurs, yet its vlatility and dwnward pressure n prices put them in a vulnerable psitin. All eight standards f the FWF Cde f Labur practices are applicable t and relevant fr Bangladesh. As instances f nn-cmpliance with each f these standards are cmmn, all eight f them need the attentin f cmpanies buying gds there. Child labur is a risk, Bangladesh is knwn fr its lw wages and als fr the lack f a healthy scial dialgue amng emplyers and unins. It is clear that additinal actin is needed, abve and beynd what FWF requires f its member cmpanies in mst ther prductin cuntries. Fr bth building and fire safety and the preventin f vilence against wmen there is an bvius need and there are pssibilities t enhance activities. 1. Fire and building safety Recent tragedies, including the Tazreen fire and the Rana Plaza cllapse, fllwed by an analysis f health and safety issues in FWF audit reprts and a fact-finding missin by FWF s fire and building safety experts. All clearly signal that fire and building safety pses a specific and immediate risk in Bangladesh. Building safety falls shrt and is nt mnitred prperly. Regulatins regarding building and fire safety have been underdevelped and enfrcement f such regulatins is weak. The level f safety in factries is lw, fr a number f reasns, including the fact that many buildings d nt have the prper (building) licenses and may have illegal additinal flrs which are ften verladed. The level f fire and electrical safety is als lw. A clear example is the fact that mst buildings d nt have enclsed staircases, which are necessary t prevent smke frm blcking the exits in case f a fire, trapping wrkers in the building. A large number f factries als have prblems with electrical safety and d nt have prper strage f chemical resurces. 2. Vilence against wmen Vilence against wmen is anther issue that is widespread in Bangladesh. The Internatinal Labur Organisatin (ILO) estimates that ver 60% f wmen in Bangladesh face harassment n the wrk flr. The impact n the, ften yung, female garment wrkers can be significant and the issue is difficult t tackle, as in mst parts f Bangladeshi sciety, wmen are in a vulnerable psitin. Natinal and internatinal effrts Early in 2013 the Bangladeshi gvernment, scial partners and the ILO signed a Natinal Actin Plan. In the wake f the Rana Plaza cllapse, many brands signed n t initiatives aiming t 1 / 5
remediate the dangerus state f mst garment factry buildings, including the Bangladesh Accrd fr Fire and Building Safety. Within the Accrd, brands ensure that additinal inspectins are dne and cmmit explicitly t participate in remediatin plans. FWF s enhanced prgramme fr mnitring and remediatin T address the issues utlined abve, FWF and its member cmpanies will implement an enhanced prgramme, which aims t supprt existing initiatives and effrts, while ptimising the impact f FWF member cmpanies mnitring activities. This prgramme enhances, rather than substitutes, the actins FWF requires frm its cmpanies in all prductin cuntries, as well as FWF s wn activities in Bangladesh. The prgramme addresses issues arund surcing plicy, mnitring and remediatin related t the issues utlined abve. Affiliates surcing in Bangladesh are required t specify in r as part f their annual FWF wrk plan hw they will implement the activities utlined in this prgramme. Implementatin f this prgramme will be part f FWF s evaluatin f the affiliates perfrmance during the annual brand perfrmance check. Steps t be taken by FWF and its affiliates T keep FWF affiliates infrmed n the specific risks, FWF will update the Bangladesh cuntry study and will publish a fact sheet n the specific risks t be taken int accunt when surcing garment prducts frm Bangladesh. Affiliates will be kept updated with specific webinars and mailings, as has been dne since May 2013. Since the start f the develpment f the enhanced mnitring prgramme FWF has strengthened the dialgue with its stakehlders n the specific risks cvered in this prgramme and maintains clse cntact with the newly set up Accrd fr Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. Adapt surcing and purchasing practices When any cmpany cnsiders surcing in Bangladesh, it is the cmpany s duty t understand the risks related t the FWF Cde f Labur Practices and take adequate measures t manage the risks ( human rights due diligence ). This means including the knwledge n the specific risks utlined abve in the diligence phase and adapting purchasing practices where needed. Step 1 Risk assessment and gathering additinal infrmatin Affiliates shuld first gather additinal infrmatin n the specific risks; identify hw they pssibly cntribute t thse risks thrugh their purchasing practices; and get clarity frm pssible new suppliers n their respnse t thse risks. Under the current enhanced prgramme fr Bangladesh, this means: Ensure that the respnsible staff within the cmpany has the necessary skills and sufficient influence within the cmpany Read available infrmatin n Bangladesh n FWF cuntry page and in FWF cuntry study. Understand the perspective f wrkers ptentially affected by means f a dialgue with wrker representatives frm a supplier (where available). Gather infrmatin n views frm stakehlders either directly r thrugh infrmatin frm FWF s stakehlder netwrk. 2 / 5
Gather additinal infrmatin frm the supplier n building licenses and latest fire safety inspectin. Gather additinal infrmatin n plicies and prcedures t prevent vilence against wmen, including ensuring cmmitment t establish a functinal anti-harassment cmmittee. Require additinal data frm the supplier: Get clarity n subcntractrs and ensure that they als are infrmed abut the Cde f Labur Practices and the need t mnitr wrking cnditins; and add name, address, FOB, prductin prcess f all prductin lcatins t the supplier list. Check whether the factry is lcated in a multipurpse and/r shared building as this may result in additinal risks fr building and fire safety. Availability f a wrker cmmittee, ccupatinal health and safety cmmittee and/r anti-harassment cmmittee. If there are n functinal cmmittees t ensure management-wrker dialgue, ensure the factry s cmmitment t establish a cmmittee and have management and wrkers participate in training. Analyse wn purchasing practices such as lead times prvided, frecasting perid, plicy n late changes in rders, prduct prices that can negatively impact the wrking cnditins at a supplier and/r a fairly negtiated price fr the rder that allws the supplier t prevent negative impact n wrking cnditins. Step 2 Get clear cmmitments frm suppliers t address the specific risks and publicly cmmit t supprt the Natinal Actin Plan (invest in preventin) When starting negtiatins with a supplier, affiliates are recmmended t include references t the specific risks in the agreement with the supplier and agree that additinal actin t prevent, mitigate r remediate them is needed. The FWF mdel letter t suppliers in Bangladesh can serve as an example. At the same time, affiliates are required t supprt the public statement sent ut by FWF in supprt f the Natinal Tripartite Plan f Actin. With that they shw cmmitment and the need fr respnsibilities t be shared and actin taken by different stakehlders and will t align ur wn activities with the Plan. Enhance Mnitring & Remediatin Step 3 Facilitate and ensure access t fire and building safety inspectin reprts and cmmit explicitly and publicly t facilitate remediatin FWF affiliates surcing in Bangladesh are required t ensure credible fire and building safety inspectins at all f their suppliers. These inspectins must be based n the standards agreed n by Bangladesh s Natinal Tripartite Cmmittee n Fire and Building Safety in the garment industry. It is crucial that all actrs factries, gvernment, custmers, business assciatins, unins, wrkers are cmmitted t the prcess and feel supprted. FWF affiliates are therefre required t cperate with ther custmers at the same suppliers t ensure remediatin f issues fund during such inspectins. T facilitate this cperatin, ensure cherent actin and 3 / 5
cntribute t the critical mass twards making real imprvements, FWF requires its members t sign the Accrd n Building and Fire Safety in Bangladesh. FWF will facilitate cperatin with the Accrd s Chief Inspectr where necessary. Affiliates must ensure they are infrmed n the date f the inspectins and have access t the reprts. Step 4 Additinal capacity building Enhance management understanding f Fire and Building safety. Past years have shwn that factry wners/managers are insufficiently aware f their rle in addressing fire and building safety issues. FWF ffers wrkshps targeted at wners and senir management f factries t enhance awareness and knwledge f the principles f fire and building safety. Fllwing the inspectins, heightened management awareness will facilitate an effective remediatin prcess. The wrkshps have been develped by the FWF expert team, cnsisting f internatinal experts n fire and building safety. FWF affiliates are required ensure participatin f all f their suppliers in Bangladesh. The wrkshps have been ffered since March 2014. Fr each participating factry, affiliates will be inviced 200. Fr factries that register but fail t shw up, half f the fee, 100, will be inviced t the affiliate. By 1 Octber 2014, all current suppliers f FWF affiliates must have participated. Increasing awareness and emergency preparedness Inspectins and safe buildings are nt enugh t guarantee wrker safety. Wrkers are nt nly best placed t mnitr their wrking cnditins and signal prblems as they arise, as the main users f thse building, they als play a crucial rle in preventing accidents r fires by cmplying with safety requirements. Wrker training, therefre, must be ensured in all factries supplying affiliates. FWF will develp such training fr wrkers and will ensure alignment with ther initiatives such as the Accrd. The training will be integrated in the existing Wrkplace Educatin Prgramme. Gender based vilence In rder t address and prevent vilence against wmen at the wrkplace, increased awareness and knwledge are necessary. Each factry, mrever, shuld have a functinal antiharassment cmmittee. Thrugh the FWF Wrkplace Educatin Prgramme, FWF is ffering training sessins fr management, middle management/supervisrs and wrkers, addressing gender based vilence and wrkplace harassment. During the prgramme, anti-harassment cmmittees are established and/r strengthened. Step 5 Strengthened auditing/mnitring Audit teams and staff f cmpanies invlved in cnducting audits r fllw-up visits, shuld be aware f the specific risks in each prductin cuntry they visit and be trained t address these. FWF audit supervisrs in Bangladesh have all been trained n building and fire safety by the FWF expert team. Members f the FWF team in Bangladesh have als participated in additinal training t increase knwledge and awareness n gender based vilence (ILO Gender Academy and team meetings). 4 / 5
Affiliates using their wn r external audit teams are required t ensure that these teams pssess the expertise t address all f these issues. Brand emplyees that visit the factry shuld als receive additinal training. FWF is ffering (nline) meetings t infrm member cmpanies. Step 6 Facilitate remediatin When prblems are fund, the FWF affiliate must take an active rle in ensuring that effective and timely remediatin takes place. Fire and Building Safety In sme cases, the additinal safety inspectins may indicate that the situatin in a factry presents such immediate and grave danger that wrkers must leave the premises. Apprpriate steps have t be taken t ensure wrkers are remved frm danger and receive cmpensatin fr lss f incme in case factries are clsed fr repairs. In mst cases, hwever, the risks will be high, but remediatin will be pssible withut sending the wrkers hme. When fire exits are lcked, fr example, the remedy is relatively easy. Mst f these issues, hwever, were fund befre during previus audits, resulting in little imprvement because the underlying issues were nt addressed. This is where remediatin and training, cme in. There is a general principle built int the design f FWF s wrk: jintly negtiated remediatin and accepting a shared respnsibility. Affiliates are required t align/crdinate remediatin with ther brands surcing at the same factry. Where necessary, FWF can represent the affiliate in cmmunicatin with brands that have signed the Accrd. FWF will supprt and dcument negtiatins n remediatin, s they can infrm further negtiatins, which will need t take place at factries acrss Bangladesh. Vilence against wmen Ideally there are anti-harassment cmmittees in place in the factries t deal with prblems and cmplaints n harassment and vilence against wmen. FWF is wrking n a factry plicy fr dealing with cmplaints f sexual harassment. Where such cmmittees are nt functinal, wrkers have access t the FWF helpline and cmplaint mechanism. Step 7 Ensure cmpensatin f victims where applicable In the past, when serius incidents have taken place in Bangladesh, lcal stakehlders and the ILO have agreed n a cmpensatin scheme fr victims and their relatives. FWF will see if this same scheme can be used as guidance in cases where cmpensatin is needed. 5 / 5