KARACHI: A comprehensive Workplace Safety Programme (WSP) is being launched in Pakistan by the signatories to the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, a move that will support the country to boost its textile sector.

The programme will cover Pakistan’s garments and textile suppliers, helping the country improve the industry like that of Bangladesh and other signatories to the accord.

The decision to expand the programme to Pakistan was announced during a signatory brand caucus meeting held on Wednesday in Amsterdam. Brands will receive an information package on the Pakistan Accord and will be invited to sign it on Jan 16, 2023, said a press release issued here on Wednesday.

“I am pleased to see the International Accord signatories reach an agreement to establish a WSP covering the signatories’ garment and textile suppliers in Pakistan. We are committed to working closely with Pakistani stakeholders to ensure our collective efforts are beneficial to the industry and its workers,” said Joris Oldenziel, Executive Director of International Accord Foundation.

Programme will ensure health and safety of textile and garment industry workers

The programme aims to incrementally cover more than 500 factories producing for over 100 accord signatory companies throughout Sindh and Punjab, where most of Pakistan’s $20 billion in garment and textile exports are manufactured annually.

The International Accord has undertaken extensive engagement in Pakistan with federal ministries and provincial governments, industry associations, suppliers, trade unions and civil society organisations.

The Pakistan Accord covers Cut-Make-Trim (CMT) facilities cover ready-made garment (RMG), home textile, fabric and knit accessories suppliers (including vertically integrated facilities). Fabric mills within the supply chains of the signatories are also covered, with implementation scheduled for a later stage in the programme.

The successful experience in Bangladesh prompted the signatories to expand the workplace safety programme to at least one other textile and garment-producing country. Through signatory surveys, extensive research, and local stakeholder consultations, the Accord Secretariat assessed the feasibility of expanding based on key factors. Pakistan emerged as a priority country, in part because of its importance as a garment and textile sourcing country for the accord brands.

The Pakistan Accord programmes will be implemented in phases, in close collaboration with these key stakeholders and through the establishment of a national governance body.

The new Pakistan Accord on Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry is a legally binding agreement between global unions, IndustriALL and UNI Global Union, and garment brands and retailers for an interim term of three years starting from 2023.

Building on widespread safety improvements in Bangladesh, the Pakistan Accord includes all key International Accord features — independent safety inspections to address identified fire, electrical, structural and boiler hazards, monitoring and supporting remediation, safety comm­ittee training and worker safety awareness programme, an independent complaints mechanism, a commitment to broad transparency, and local capacity-building to enhance a culture of health and safety in the industry.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2022