Photo: 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse missing persons board

Dear Friends,

To commemorate the April 24 eighth anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster in which 1,134 workers were killed and 2,500 injured when a garment factory building collapsed, MSN is joining with Bangladeshi, international and Canadian allies in calling for a renewed commitment to worker safety in Bangladesh and other garment-producing countries.

The Rana Plaza tragedy signalled the urgent need for the creation of the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, a legally binding agreement between trade union organizations and over 200 retailers and brands whose products are made in the country. MSN is one of four NGO witness signatories to the Accord.  

The ground-breaking work of the Accord’s independent factory inspection program, worker complaint mechanism, and health and safety training for workers has resulted in significant improvements in workplace safety for over 2 million workers in one of the major garment-producing countries in the world. The legally-binding nature of the Accord has become a model for future mandatory human rights due diligence initiatives that go far beyond voluntary, private sector self-regulation.

Unfortunately, the future of the Accord is now in doubt. Its program in Bangladesh has been transferred to the Ready-Made Garments Sustainability Council (RSC). Unlike the Accord, whose governance structure is comprised of an equal number of worker representatives as company representatives, the RSC is governed by a board of directors that is made up predominantly of brand representatives and factory owners, with union representatives making up only a third of its members. Unless companies are convinced to sign a new international Accord for Bangladesh, which could be extended to other countries, they will no longer be legally accountable for unsafe practices in their supplier factories after the Transition Accord expires at the end of May 2021.

Rana Plaza Never Again, Together We Remember
Join with MSN, Bangladeshi unions. and other members of the global Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) network in commemorating those who died and were injured in the Rana Plaza tragedy, and in calling on apparel brands and retailers to sign a new legally binding agreement to preserve the accomplishments of the Accord in Bangladesh, and to extend this highly successful program to other garment-producing countries.

Click here to:

     o   Leave your words of sympathy to commemorate and remember the lives lost in the Rana Plaza disaster

     o   Send a message to the brands, including Loblaw (Joe Fresh) that source from Bangladesh to keep factories safe by signing onto a new Accord

Read more about protecting the progress of the Accord and the need for it to continue and expand its life-saving work

Bangladeshi garment workers - Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity

Canadian Rana Plaza Anniversary statement

Canadian retailers and brands that source from Bangladesh must also commit to preventing another disaster like the deadly Rana Plaza collapse. MSN is joining with Canadian trade union and non-governmental organizations in calling on those retailers and brands to sign a new international Accord.

The anniversary statement also joins the Clean Clothes Campaign global network in calling on all apparel brands to ensure workers in their supplier factories receive their full wages and benefits throughout the pandemic and to sign on to a new legally-binding severance guarantee fund. This fund would protect workers who lose their jobs as a result of factory closures by ensuring they receive their full legal severance pay. The statement concludes by calling on the Canadian government to legislate companies to respect human rights in their global operations and supply chains (Read the full statement here).

Join the Canadian signatories to the joint statement in calling on Lululemon and YM to sign on to a legally binding global Severance Guarantee Fund.

A year into the pandemic, many brands’ profits have returned to previous levels, with some, like Nike’s, registering billion-dollar profits, while workers in their supply chains struggle to survive. Last week’s Day of Action targeting Nike was a huge success, and the global campaign is now increasing the pressure on Nike and two other brands – Amazon and the UK fashion brand Next.

If you haven’t already signed the petition, click below to join over 19,000 people worldwide who are demanding that these companies take responsibility for the workers in their supply chains. PayYourWorkers.org, the campaign website, is available in eight languages. We invite you to join the campaign, sign the petition and add your organization’s name to the list of endorsers.