The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety announced on 12th October that, it has suspended seven additional factories for failure to show evidence of remediation progress.
Five of the seven factories were also cited by the Alliance for failure to remove lockable exits. The move brings the total number factories suspended by the Alliance to 104.
“Any factory that is unwilling or unable to make progress on the repairs required to meet our safety standards is removed from our list of Alliance-complaint factories, without exception,” said Jim Moriarty, former U.S. ambassador to Bangladesh and Alliance country director.
“Ensuring the safety of workers in Alliance-affiliated factories is our highest priority.”
The Alliance performs independent inspections on the structural, electrical and fire safety of all factories from which its members source.
Each factory is then provided with a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) designed to help it address safety issues and achieve compliance with Alliance safety standards. The Alliance also provides technical advice and access to low-cost loans to assist factories with remediation.
Now in year three of its five-year initiative, the Alliance is on track to remediate all critical safety issues in its active factories by 2018. To date, 63 percent of all safety issues in Alliance factories have been corrected and 40 factories have completed all necessary repairs outlined in their CAPs.
