World fashion brands, unions agree to extend Bangladesh deal
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Leading global fashion brands and trade unions agreed Thursday to continue a safety program involving thousands of garment factories in Bangladesh for another three years.
Two Switzerland-based global trade unions — IndustriALL Global Union and UNIGlobal Union — and brand representatives announced the agreement in Paris.
The current five-year campaign for fire and building safety expires next May and involves only European brands. Another group of North American brands is working separately to improve safety conditions in Bangladesh.
Following the collapse in 2013 of Rana Plaza, a complex housing five garment factories, global clothing companies joined the Bangladesh government in promising to improve safety standards.