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| John Lewis, M&S and Debenhams yet to commit to new Bangladesh factory safety deal | John Lewis, M&S and Debenhams yet to commit to new Bangladesh factory safety deal |
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| UK fashion and clothes retailers have defended themselves after it emerged on Monday that they have yet to sign a deal renewing their commitment to factory safety in Bangladesh. | UK fashion and clothes retailers have defended themselves after it emerged on Monday that they have yet to sign a deal renewing their commitment to factory safety in Bangladesh. |
| John Lewis, M&S, Next, Debenhams and Sainsbury’s are all yet to add their names to a list of brands binding themselves to Bangladesh’s latest laws on fire and building safety. | |
| The renewed agreement will see greater investment in health and safety checks come into effect this year as the original 2013 agreement is due to expire in May. | The renewed agreement will see greater investment in health and safety checks come into effect this year as the original 2013 agreement is due to expire in May. |
| A legally binding agreement was set up in 2013 in which brands must shoulder the costs of improving health and safety in Bangladeshi factories. | A legally binding agreement was set up in 2013 in which brands must shoulder the costs of improving health and safety in Bangladeshi factories. |
| Bangladesh’s Accord on Fire and Building Safety was introduced after the fatal Rana Plaza factory disaster, which killed 1,135 workers and left more than 2,500 people injured. | |
| Sixty global brands have already renewed their commitment to the accord, including Adidas, Lidl and Primark, according to IndustriALL Global Union. | Sixty global brands have already renewed their commitment to the accord, including Adidas, Lidl and Primark, according to IndustriALL Global Union. |
| A John Lewis spokesperson said the company is currently reviewing details of the new agreement before making a decision ahead of the May deadline. | A John Lewis spokesperson said the company is currently reviewing details of the new agreement before making a decision ahead of the May deadline. |
| M&S told The Independent that it is still “in discussion with stakeholders on Accord 2.0”, while Debenhams said it had “meetings in the diary” before May. | |
| A Next spokesperson said it is yet to make a final decision on whether to sign up to the Second Accord because of a ”lack of clarity”. | |
| “If NEXT decides not to sign Accord 2 – it is confident that it already has a competent, directly employed code of practice team (and office) in place in Bangladesh, to manage safety in that region,” Next said. | |
| Sainsbury’s was unavailable for comment. | |
| Trade unions representing Bangladeshi textile workers reached a $2.3m (£1.6m) settlement earlier in January with an unnamed multinational fashion brand accused of delaying fixes to life-threatening hazards in factories. | Trade unions representing Bangladeshi textile workers reached a $2.3m (£1.6m) settlement earlier in January with an unnamed multinational fashion brand accused of delaying fixes to life-threatening hazards in factories. |
| The UNI Global Union and IndustriALL Global Union took two leading fashion brands to court in 2016 following the introduction of Bangladesh’s Accord on Fire and Building Safety in 2013. | The UNI Global Union and IndustriALL Global Union took two leading fashion brands to court in 2016 following the introduction of Bangladesh’s Accord on Fire and Building Safety in 2013. |