Bangladesh: "Our garment industry is probably the safest nowadays"

Faruque Hassan may be the fresh president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers Association (BGMEA). The country has been struck hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, and with the looming expiration of the Bangladesh Accord, a fresh tug-of-war has begun between makes, factories, unions and NGOs over responsibilities and accountability for the health and safety of the garment sector, which has been watched with great fascination internationally.

Bangladesh may be the second greatest garment producer in the world after China. The garment market alone is accountable for about 85 percent of the country's total exports. Since April 2021, a fresh man offers been at the helm of the powerful industry: Faruque Hassan. He was elected as the new president of the BGMEA, which organizes a lot more than 2,300 garment makers and exporters in the country.

Hassan, who's also the managing director of knitwear maker Giant Group, where he oversees several thousand employees, takes office found in challenging times. It’s not simply the pandemic that’s leading to troubles for the country's garment sector.

The so-called Bangladesh Accord can be set to expire in the coming a few months after being extended the other day, posing new challenges to relations between producers, brands and unions, that have been already strained in light of the Covid crisis.

The Accord is a legally binding international agreement burning and building safety in Bangladesh concluded in 2013 between companies, trade unions, associations and NGOs in response to the devastating Rana Plaza disaster.

When the agreement expires, the monitoring of security standards is usually to be transferred to the government agency RMG Sustainability Council (RSC), based on the Accord. However, this is subject to the problem that the approximately 200 brands and retailers that contain since became a member of the Accord also sign a in the same way binding arrangement for the RSC. But up to now that hasn’t happened.

As a result, the unions involved have threatened to keep, but have finally extended their ultimatum by 90 days.

We spoke with Faruque Hassan about the existing situation in Bangladesh.