April 24th marks the 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster. The collapse of a building housing garment factories in Bangladesh killed 1138 people and injured thousands more. It was the worst industrial incident in the global garment industry–and one that was entirely preventable. 

The global outrage that followed the Rana Plaza disaster brought enough pressure on fashion brands that they finally signed the binding agreements on building and fire safety that local unions had been campaigning on for years.

Those binding agreements were one of the first examples of what we now call Worker-driven Social Responsibility (the other, developing at the same time, is what is now the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food Program). This agreement, initially called the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (often referred to as “The Bangladesh Accord”) and later, the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry have transformed the workplace for over two million workers in 1600 factories. 

Binding Agreement Holds Fashion Brands Accountable for the Consequences of their Purchasing Practices

Today the International Accord is an example of how Worker-driven Social Responsibility works to hold brands accountable for the consequences of their purchasing practices. 

With the successes of the Accord has also come many attempts to imitate the model with corporate social responsibility initiatives that cut corners on cost and compliance requirements and fall short of legally binding agreements. As the world repeats the commitment, Rana Plaza, Never Again, it is vital that those words are paired with a commitment to making them a reality.

The International Accord: Worker-Driven Social Responsibility Protects Workers’ Rights

The six principles of Worker-driven Social Responsibility that underpin the International Accord, provide a roadmap for effective programs that put workers on the frontlines of defending their own rights from Bangladesh to Florida, from Vermont to Lesotho, and now to Pakistan. 

•  Labor Rights Initiatives Must Be Worker-Driven

Strong, independent worker organizations are essential to defend workers’ rights – they alone have both the expertise to identify the key workplace issues and the abiding, uncompromising interest in protecting their own rights. These organizations must be in the driver’s seat of the development and enforcement of any program that claims to benefit workers.

• Obligations for Global Corporations Must Be Binding and Enforceable

Respect for human rights must be a matter of contractual obligation. The history of failed voluntary commitments and ineffective audits is evidence that corporations cannot and will not police themselves. Without effective enforcement, any program is merely words on paper.

• Buyers Must Afford Suppliers the Financial Incentive and Capacity to Comply

Global supply chains are designed to fuel a race to the bottom for wages and working conditions. Changing that means changing supply chain dynamics–shifting money and power. Binding agreements hold brands accountable for for the consequences of their purchasing practices, and spell out the cost of safe factories and decent working conditions.

• Consequences for Non-Compliant Suppliers Must Be Mandatory

Meaningful enforcement must include consequences for suppliers that fail to comply. These consequences, including termination of supervisors or even purchase agreements, must prioritize workers’ rights and the remediation of abuses, not the convenience of brands.

• Gains for Workers Must be Measurable and Timely

The ultimate test of whether a program is effective is if workers see concrete changes in their workplaces. These changes build trust in the program, encouraging workers to engage still more in the program–and, ultimately, affecting still more improvements. 

• Verification of Workplace Compliance Must Be Rigorous and Independent

Social audits are widely relied on in corporate social responsibility programs – but also widely noted to be ineffective, superficial, and subject to influence. Effective verification must start with educated workers who know their rights,  in-depth interviews, freedom from retaliation, and an effective complaints mechanism that is accessible to workers every day of the year, not just during an occasional audit.

Prevent Future Disasters: Time to Sign the Accords

The Rana Plaza disaster was entirely preventable. Had workers had an independent union, they would not have been compelled to go to work that morning. Had brands heeded responded to the years of workers’ campaigning for safer working conditions, lives could have been spared in this disaster, and in the string of horrendous building collapses and fires that preceded it.

Today, workers’ organizations and human rights groups around the world continue to campaign for brands to take accountability for conditions in their supply chains – both the holdouts who continue to refuse to sign the International Accord and those who have yet to join the recently expanded Pakistan Accord. 

International outcry and solidarity organizing has been essential to bringing brands to the table since the beginning. Add your voice to the calls for brands to sign the Accord here.