“Statement on the fatal explosion at Multifabs Limited garment factory in Bangladesh”, 4 Jul

The explosion at the non-unionized Multifabs factory highlights the urgent need to address boiler safety in garment and textile factories in Bangladesh.  As a factory covered under the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, Multifabs has been inspected by Accord engineers.  It had completed fire separation of the boiler room, and all other fire and structural safety renovations, except for installation of sprinklers.  The Accord does not cover boiler inspections, which are monitored by the Bangladesh government.  There is still an enormous amount to be done to improve safety in the Bangaldeshi garment industry.  This latest tragedy underlines the need for the work by the Bangladesh Accord to continue, and union signatories to the Accord will demand that it be expanded to include boiler safety as soon as possible.  On 29 June, a new 2018 Accord was launched extending the safety programme, due to expire in May 2018, until 2021. The new Accord includes additional commitments to the right of workers to organize and join a union in order to protect their own safety. So far fifteen brands have signed the 2018 Accord. We urge more brands to follow suit.