Distribution Network
Content
Spanish clothing company Inditex is leading a move to set up a
‘solidarity fund’ for victims and families affected by the collapse of
a garment factory in Bangladesh last year.
Inditex was one of a number of clothing retailers to have used the independently owned Spectrum factory in Savar which fell down in April 2005, killing 73 workers and injuring many more (EP7,issue 2, p7). The companies that were Spectrum’s customers argue they can bear no responsibility for the collapse, but still want to help those affected by the disaster.
The solidarity fund is being set up by Inditex with help from the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation and KPMG, which has been asked to devise a system to assess need and set payments. Other companies that have sourced from the factory, among them Cotton Group, Scapino, Steilmann and Karstadt, are understood to be interested in either contributing to this fund or to a trust fund set up by Oxfam.
Inditex has already provided $35,000 (£20,000) of aid to victims and families through other channels, and other businesses have offered help. The French supermarket chain Carrefour has contributed money through an NGO called Friendship, which has set up a rehabilitation programme for victims and provided medical care, food and educational support. It has also found new jobs for eight victims.
The Clean Clothes Campaign, which has been monitoring the situation, said all injured workers ‘have received adequate medical treatment’ and some relief. However, it has criticized what it sees as the slow response of many buyers.
The Business Social Compliance Initiative, a Brussels-based ethical supply chain organization with 30 corporate members, including three that have used the Spectrum factory at some stage – Inditex, Neckermann and Steilmann – has held several meetings in Bangladesh with NGOs, government officials and trade unionists to see how companies can help. But it has also been trying to improve local regulation of factory buildings, and has secured a pledge from the ministry of labour that it will increase the number of factory buildings inspectors. At present 50 inspectors cover the country.
Lorenz Berzau, project co-ordinator at BSCI, conceded that there had been poor workplace standards at the Spectrum factory and said a BSCI programme to begin social audits of factories in Bangladesh used by its members had been brought forward by at least six months in the wake of the disaster. However, he argued that retailers could not be held responsible for construction standards of buildings used by suppliers.
‘The people doing social audits are not engineers, and while they will report any obvious signs of problems with a building, you cannot expect a social audit to cover technical aspects of building construction,’ he told EP. ‘The responsibility for that lies with the owner and with the regulatory authorities.’
The National Garment Workers Federation (Bangladesh) does not agree. It has called on all brands sourcing in Bangladesh to take part in a ‘structural review of multi-storey buildings’ used in the garment sector.
Inditex was one of a number of clothing retailers to have used the independently owned Spectrum factory in Savar which fell down in April 2005, killing 73 workers and injuring many more (EP7,issue 2, p7). The companies that were Spectrum’s customers argue they can bear no responsibility for the collapse, but still want to help those affected by the disaster.
The solidarity fund is being set up by Inditex with help from the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation and KPMG, which has been asked to devise a system to assess need and set payments. Other companies that have sourced from the factory, among them Cotton Group, Scapino, Steilmann and Karstadt, are understood to be interested in either contributing to this fund or to a trust fund set up by Oxfam.
Inditex has already provided $35,000 (£20,000) of aid to victims and families through other channels, and other businesses have offered help. The French supermarket chain Carrefour has contributed money through an NGO called Friendship, which has set up a rehabilitation programme for victims and provided medical care, food and educational support. It has also found new jobs for eight victims.
The Clean Clothes Campaign, which has been monitoring the situation, said all injured workers ‘have received adequate medical treatment’ and some relief. However, it has criticized what it sees as the slow response of many buyers.
The Business Social Compliance Initiative, a Brussels-based ethical supply chain organization with 30 corporate members, including three that have used the Spectrum factory at some stage – Inditex, Neckermann and Steilmann – has held several meetings in Bangladesh with NGOs, government officials and trade unionists to see how companies can help. But it has also been trying to improve local regulation of factory buildings, and has secured a pledge from the ministry of labour that it will increase the number of factory buildings inspectors. At present 50 inspectors cover the country.
Lorenz Berzau, project co-ordinator at BSCI, conceded that there had been poor workplace standards at the Spectrum factory and said a BSCI programme to begin social audits of factories in Bangladesh used by its members had been brought forward by at least six months in the wake of the disaster. However, he argued that retailers could not be held responsible for construction standards of buildings used by suppliers.
‘The people doing social audits are not engineers, and while they will report any obvious signs of problems with a building, you cannot expect a social audit to cover technical aspects of building construction,’ he told EP. ‘The responsibility for that lies with the owner and with the regulatory authorities.’
The National Garment Workers Federation (Bangladesh) does not agree. It has called on all brands sourcing in Bangladesh to take part in a ‘structural review of multi-storey buildings’ used in the garment sector.
Super Featured
No
Featured
No