News about Our Work - 15 December 2022 International Security Agreement Extended to Pakistan 10 years after the devastating fire in the Ali Enterprises factory in Karachi, the International Accord for Pakistan was finally announced on Wednesday, 14.12.2022. The agreement is based on the Bangladesh Accord, which was signed in response to the collapse of the Rana Plaza textile factory in 2013. It provides for essential mechanisms to improve safety standards in factories that are legally binding on the signatory brands. Trade unions and NGOs celebrate the announcement of the agreement as a great success. "After years of fighting to extend the agreement to Pakistan, our workers can finally be involved in the monitoring and grievance mechanisms of the agreement. When enough brand companies sign, workers no longer have to fear for their lives when they go to work, and they know who to turn to when their factory is unsafe. The strength of the agreement lies in the fact that trade unions have the same power in decision-making as companies," says Nasir Mansoor, Secretary General of the National Trade Union Federation Pakistan. Building on the Bangladesh Accord, the Pakistan Agreement includes significant features to improve factory safety: It provides for independent security controls to identify risks and time-bound renovation plans to address identified deficiencies. It also ensures that suppliers have the means to implement these plans. In addition, workers are given the opportunity to address health and safety issues to independent complaint mechanisms. The agreement also provides for a commitment to full transparency and the establishment of local structures to improve health and safety standards in the sector. Zehra Khan of the Home Based Women Workers Federation, Pakistan. © CCCIt should also be noted that home workers also benefit from the agreement. "The Accord programme will bring inspections, safety training and a complaint mechanism for all health and safety issues, including gender-based violence, to workers in Pakistan who produce for the signatory brands. Particular attention must be paid to ensuring that women workers who are often not officially registered and may work from home have the same access to this programme as other workers," says Zehra Khan, Secretary General of the Home Based Women Workers Federation. The legally binding agreement has so far been signed by 187 brands, at least half of which source their goods from Pakistan. background The fire at the Ali Enterprises factory in Karachi in 2012, the worst fire in the history of the global apparel industry, killed more than 250 workers. As in Bangladesh, voluntary audit systems in Pakistan did not protect workers, and injuries and deaths continued to occur in the factories. Just a few weeks before the 2012 fire, Ali Enterprises received certification from a private testing firm that included a check on safety standards. This shows how important the extension of the international agreement is for the safety of workers. The new agreement is based on the Bangladesh Accord, which was signed after the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in 2013. As a result, security measures were implemented in more than 1,600 factories that saved the lives of countless workers. Further information Information on the Occupational Safety and Health Agreement in Pakistan Website of the Clean Clothes Campaign Deadly Juicy Hazards in Factories Supplying Major International Brands Show the Immediate Need for a Strong According Program in Pakistan (PDF, English, Nov. 2022) Short report of the International Campaign for Clean Clothes (CCC)
