WAL-MART Announces Plans For Bangladesh Garment Factory Safety

P, Wal-Mart Store Inc (Wal-MartStoresInc.) broke up with major European retailers on Tuesday.

The company announced plans to improve Bangladesh's "a" target= "_blank" href= "http://www.91se91.com/" > clothing /a plant safety condition.

The company called the plan a commitment, but it was different from a legally binding agreement.

On Monday, some large retailers in Europe agreed to sign a pioneering and legally binding agreement to improve the safety of Bangladesh garment factories and prevent the disaster of more than 1100 garment workers killed last month due to the collapse of buildings.

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Soldiers in the suburb of Dhaka, Bangladesh, stood by the collapsed garment factory building, praying for more than 1100 people who died in the crash in April this year.

According to the plan, WAL-MART said it would hire external auditors to check the situation of 279 factories in Bangladesh and publish the results on its website before June 1st.

After the discovery of fire and construction safety issues, WAL-MART said it would require factory owners to make necessary rectification, otherwise it might remove the names of these factories from the list of authorized factories.

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< p > WAL-MART refused to sign a five year agreement like other retailers, but quoted legally binding provisions in the agreement.

Earlier this week, GapInc. did not sign the five year agreement.

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On Tuesday, five years, the fire and building safety agreement received support from at least six other retailers in Bangladesh, including the Canadian supermarket chain Loblaw. Its JoeFresh brand "a target=" _blank "href=" http://www.91se91.com/ "> dress > /a > was found in the ruins of the building.

Workers' safety organizations, trade unions and some major retail chains in Europe have participated in the agreement negotiations.

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< p > WAL-MART will pay the factory audit fee.

The audit will be carried out by BureauVeritas, a European inspection company.

WAL-MART will not pay for the rectification, but WAL-MART, who is responsible for outsourcing ethics, said in an interview with reporters that WAL-MART will not pay for the rectification, but the cost of safety rectification is expected to be reflected in the cost of goods purchased by RajanKamalanathan.

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"P," he said, "we do not want anyone to cut corners and put aside the safety of workers.

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At the same time, P, JCPenney, Sears (SearsHoldings) and a series of other brands in North America are drafting their own safety plans.

JonathanGold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at NationalRetailFederation, the US industry association, said the details of the plan are still being worked out.

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< p > some experts say that a large number of competitive proposals may weaken their effectiveness.

In the past, voluntary measures were not effective.

Ross, who teaches sociology at Clark University in ClarkUniversity, Wooster, Massachusetts, said that without the legally binding contracts signed by European retailers, these are just BobRoss.

Ross is a critic of sweatshops.

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< p > WAL-MART is one of the largest customers of Bangladesh garment factory.

The clothing industry has grown to an annual output value of 20 billion US dollars.

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< p > WAL-MART said it would publish a list of more than 250 factories authorized to produce WAL-MART products.

A spokesman for WAL-MART said that its safety plan met or exceeded the proposed requirements and would produce results sooner.

The spokesman said that another plan supported by several other retailers in Europe has introduced various requirements on supply chain management, including governance and dispute settlement mechanisms.

These problems are more suitable for retailers, suppliers and governments, and are not necessary for raising fire and safety standards.

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< p > WAL-MART announced a list on Tuesday that more than 250 factories authorized to produce WAL-MART products have been cancelled.

But WAL-MART did not explain why it was no longer authorized.

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The P > WAL-MART will also set up an independent call center for workers in the garment factory so that workers can report unsafe working conditions.

At the same time, fire safety training will be carried out for every factory in Bangladesh, which produces a target= "_blank" href= "http://www.91se91.com/" > clothing < /a > for WAL-MART.

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