After the deaths of 1,241 Bangladeshi factory workers in less than six months, a group of 17 North American retailers are finally caving into public pressure to update safety standards in their factories. Gap Inc, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, and Sears Corp are three of the retailers presenting a five year safety plan for garment factories in Bangladesh.
The plan drew immediate backlash from labor groups who insist the plan is not as diligent as similar European retailers, which are to include coordinated, yearly safety inspections. The American plan commits $42 million for worker safety which will include inspections and a hotline for workers to anonymously report concerns. More than $100 million in loans and other financing will help factory owners fix many safety problems. But unlike the European plan, the American plan does not constitute legally binding commitments to pay for the improvements- a fact which has not been missed, not only by labor unions, but by many student protesters.
Labor union groups estimated that it would take at least $3 billion to bring Bangladesh’s factories up to standard; a mere fraction of what is being budgeted for them.
The effort announced on Wednesday is called the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and will ask for each of the 17 participating companies to contribute money depending on how much business they do in Bangladesh. The companies with larger amounts will fund up to $1 million a year while companies with less business will fund modest, yet smaller, amounts. The efforts should create the $42 million fund which should last the extent of the five year plan.
Though the American plan sounds good in theory, labor unions and student groups have a lot more protesting to do if they want to ensure that American companies keep their Bangladeshi factories up to par. For instance, the Europeans pledge that there will be the money needed for all safety concerns to be corrected, regardless of how many issues actually arise. The American plan asks only that the factories are inspected once every year, and only give an allotted amount of money. Once this money runs out, if the company does not fix the problem itself, American retailers say they will no longer do business there.
From Wal-Mart’s standpoint, termination is the ultimate motivator to get the factories up to standard. For anyone who can do basic math, a simple quote of how much everything would cost will show very quickly that many of these factories will run out of company loans rapidly, and do not have the money to fund the safety issues themselves.
The companies on the American plan are: Canadian Tire Corp Ltd; Carter’s Inc; The Children’s Place Retail Stores; Gap; Hudson’s Bay Co; IFG Corp; J.C. Penney Co Inc; Jones Group Inc; Kohl’s Corp Inc; L.L. Bean Inc; Macy’s Inc; Nordstrom Inc; Public Clothing Co; Sears Holdings Corp; Target Corp; VF Corp; and Wal-Mart. A few American retailers did jump on the European plan to ensure better safety standards such as Abercrombie & Fitch, and PVH.
Though many may be outraged by this plan’s lack of promise and concern, consumers and protesters should be happy with their efforts so far. In less than six months, a plan has been derived that will hopefully stop collapses and fires, like the one seen last November, and unnecessary loss of life in Bangladeshi factories. Continuing awareness on the topic will only bring a better and brighter future for other Bangladeshi workers.
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