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Walmart, Gap Nearing $50 Million Bangladesh Safety Pact: Report

Report: Walmart, Gap Nearing Bangladesh Safety Pact
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Associate Business Editor, The Huffington Post

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Bangladeshi volunteers and rescue workers are pictured at the scene after an eight-storey building collapsed in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 25, 2013. Survivors cried out to rescuers April 25 from the rubble of a block of garment factories in Bangladesh that collapsed killing 175 people, sparking criticism of their Western clients. AFP PHOTO/Munir uz ZAMAN (Photo credit should read MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Months after facing criticism for not signing on to a legally binding deal to improve worker safety in Bangladesh, Walmart, the Gap and other retailers are nearing a separate agreement to improve the country's factory conditions.

Walmart and Gap were two of the many North American retailers that didn’t sign on to the Bangladesh Safety Accord earlier this year, and the retailers have since faced pressure to address Bangladesh safety conditions in the wake of a garment factory collapse that killed more than 1,000 workers in April.

The new deal reportedly could be announced as early as July and will include a $50 million fund to go towards boosting safety conditions in Bangladesh garment factories, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing a source familiar with the talks. The agreement hinges in part on the Bangladeshi government cooperating with the retailers to ensure accountability at the factories.

"At this point only a few final details remain to be worked out and agreed upon. We remain on track to complete the process by early July," Jason Grumet, President of the Bipartisan Policy Center, the group brokering the deal, said in a statement released Tuesday.

The deal differs from the Bangladesh Safety Accord in that it is not legally binding. Gap and Walmart contend their deal will allow them to address safety concerns quicker.

After facing criticism for not signing the accord, Walmart and the Gap led a coalition of retailers -- including Macy’s, Sears and JC Penney’s -- to create a new Bangladesh safety plan. Labor activists initially criticized the talks because there was no indication that they would result in a legally binding agreement.

Richard M. Locke, an MIT professor and expert on overseas manufacturing, told The New York Times at the time that the retailers launched the new effort because “they must have been feeling the heat.”

“The idea that you would bring all these people together in this new effort is a good first step," he said. "But I don’t think it’s good to have competing initiatives."

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Before You Go

Who's Missing From The Bangladesh Safety Accord?
Walmart(01 of14)
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Walmart declined to join the Bangladesh safety accord, instead creating its own safety program to address factory working conditions in the country. The program will help more than 17,000 workers in 34 factories in Bangladesh, according to "new principles [that] actually go further than the accord," Walmart said in a statement. (credit:AP)
Gap(02 of14)
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Retailer Gap will sign the safety accord if rules on "how disputes are resolved" are changed, the company said in a statement. Gap says it does business with 78 factories in Bangladesh. (credit:AP)
Macy's(03 of14)
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Macy's has reportedly declined to sign onto the safety accord, instead electing to develop its own safety standards for factories in Bangladesh, along with other retailers, Canadian Safety Reporter reports. (credit:AP)
Sears/Kmart(04 of14)
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Sears has not signed the safety accord despite its "ongoing efforts to work collaboratively with other brands and retailers to improve working conditions in Bangladesh," the company wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. Instead, Sears says the company is working with retail trade associations to create an "alternate proposal" for improving factory safety. (credit:Getty Images)
JCPenney(05 of14)
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JCPenney has said it's working with the North American Bangladesh Worker Safety Working Group to improve conditions in Bangladesh, but the retailer has not signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, Businessweek reports. "Moving forward, we’ll strengthen our audit requirements related to structural and electrical inspections, and continue enforcing a policy that prohibits the use of factories located within multi-use buildings," JCPenney wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. (credit:Getty Images)
VF Corp(06 of14)
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VF Corp, which owns brands such as The North Face, Wrangler jeans and Vans, has not signed the accord. It wrote in an email to The Huffington Post that the company "has a long history of working in Bangladesh and intends to maintain operations in the country ... We are currently evaluating all agreements and programs aimed at addressing safety standards to determine the best opportunity to create effective change [for Bangladesh garment workers]." (credit:Alamy)
Target(07 of14)
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Target has declined to join the safety accord, instead highlighting its involvement with the North American Bangladesh Worker Safety Working Group, a third-party organization that will endorse its own “broad set of [safety] proposals,” according to The Washington Post. (credit:AP)
Kohl's(08 of14)
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Despite facing pressure to join, Kohl's has yet to sign onto the safety accord, according to the Worker Rights Consortium. (credit:AP)
Cato Fashions(09 of14)
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Despite receiving pressure to sign the accord from labor and consumer groups, Cato Fashions is yet to get on board with the agreement, The New York Times reports. (credit:Cato Fashions)
Carter's(10 of14)
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OshKosh B'Gosh parent company Carter's has yet to sign the Bangladesh safety accord, says the Worker Rights Consortium. (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5bb2f85ce4b0480ca65fe962" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="3" data-vars-position-in-unit="11">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/64749744@N00/3147645053" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="babasteve" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5bb2f85ce4b0480ca65fe962" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/64749744@N00/3147645053" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="4" data-vars-position-in-unit="12">babasteve</a>)
Nordstrom(11 of14)
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In the wake of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, Nordstrom reviewed its operations, affirming it produces apparel at three factories in the country. While saying it will work with the American Apparel and Footwear Association to improve worker conditions, Nordstrom has not signed on to the Bangladesh safety accord, the Seattle Times reports. (credit:AP)
American Eagle Outfitters(12 of14)
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American Eagle is among retailers cited by the Worker Rights Consortium who have not yet signed on to the Bangladesh safety agreement. (credit:Alamy)
The Children's Place(13 of14)
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Kids' retailer The Children's Place is reportedly still evaluating whether it will sign onto the safety accord, USAToday reports. (credit:Alamy)
Foot Locker(14 of14)
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Despite links to Bangladesh manufacturing, Foot Locker has yet to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, according to the Worker Rights Consortium. (credit:Alamy)
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