French retailer Carrefour has become the first French signatory of a new fire and building safety agreement for its suppliers in Bangladesh.
The new agreement is an extension of the previous one signed in 2013 following the collapse of the Rana Plaza which caused more than 1,100 deaths in Bangladesh. This extension is intended to improve safety conditions in textile factories in Bangladesh for a period of three years.
Carrefour reports that the previous agreement has already resolved more than 100,000 safety problems identified by inspections in 1,800 factories.
Safety Programme
The agreement was signed by buyers sourcing in the country and the main international trade unions. It brings together more than 200 brands and aims to ensure the safety of workers in factories through structural and electrical inspections.
According to the retailer, all active plants working with Carrefour have been inspected and the recommended improvement actions were implemented at 87% of them, compared to an average of 78% for the other members of the agreement.
The new agreement will make it possible to finalise the programme of compliance of the previous agreement and to ensure an eventual takeover of the system of inspection by the government of Bangladesh.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Solene Main. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
