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23 April, 202524 April marks the anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, one of the deadliest industrial disasters in history. Over 1,100 workers, most of them women, lost their lives when the building housing several garment factories collapsed in 2013.
The tragedy triggered unprecedented action to improve factory safety, leading to the creation of the Bangladesh Accord, now known as the International Accord. A decade later, the legally binding agreement has brought quantifiable improvements and made garment factories safer for workers.
Key achievements include:
- Over 66,000 factory inspections ensuring compliance with fire, electrical, boiler and structural safety standards
- A 92 per cent remediation rate, making workplaces safer for millions of workers
- More than 2.5 million workers trained in workplace safety, including gender-based violence prevention
- Over 1,681 complaints successfully resolved through enforceable grievance mechanisms
Women workers, who make up the majority of the garment workforce in Bangladesh, have been central to these improvements.
- Around 6,046 women now serve on factory safety committees in Bangladesh
- Nearly 1.6 million women workers have been trained on workplace safety
In 2022, the International Accord was extended to Pakistan. Under the Pakistan programme, where women make up about 11 per cent of the garment workforce:
- 223 women are members of safety committees
- Close to 2,000 women workers have received workplace safety training
Says Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary:
“The Rana Plaza collapse remains a painful reminder of the cost of inaction, but it also stands as a turning point. Thanks to the collective efforts of unions, brands and workers themselves, the Accord has helped build a safer industry where workers’ voices are taken into consideration, as well as empowering women to play a leading role in shaping safer workplaces. We hope to be able to extend this success story to one more country in 2025.”