24 April 2018

...Led by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, the Bangladesh Investor initiative, an investor coalition comprising 250 institutional investors representing over $4.5 trillion in assets under management, was formed in May of 2013 to urge a strong corporate response to Rana Plaza including participation in the Accord. Further, in their engagements with companies the investors made four main recommendations:

• Join the legally binding Accord on Fire and Building Safety (Accord) signed by trade unions, brands and retailers with NGOs as witness signatories;
• Commit to strengthening local trade unions and ensuring a living wage for all workers including through their engagement with the Bangladesh government;
• Publicly disclose all their suppliers including those from Bangladesh;
• Ensure that appropriate grievance mechanisms and effective remedies, including compensation, are in place for affected workers and families. 

The investors argue that supply chain transparency is critical to safeguarding worker safety and employer responsibility since visibility into extended supply chains, including sub-contractors, is a precondition to identifying risks, including safety, forced labor, harassment, discrimination and denial of freedom of association...

The investor statement is available here: http://iccr.org/sites/default/files/resources_attachments/2018_5th_anniversary_ranaplaza_statement_final_0.pdf