Exploring Suppliers’ Approaches toward Workplace Safety Compliance in the Global Garment Sector: From Bangladesh Perspective

Abstract

The readymade garment (RMG) sector is one of the main drivers of the Bangladesh economy with over 4 million employed. In the 2013 Rana Plaza accident aftermath, the implementation of workplace safety compliance (WSC) became imperative. The paper investigated the WSC initiatives implemented by the RMG sector to overcome safety challenges and their effectiveness for a safe and healthy workplace. We employed a multi-case study research strategy over three Bangladeshi garment manufacturers to resolve these queries. The result revealed that the manufacturers joined in the safety governance programs to protect workers’ health safety rights immediately after the accidents. They participated in inspections and remediations programs over structural, electrical, and fire protection as a priority. Moreover, several other human rights conventions, national labor laws and, buyer code of conduct were also adopted as regulatory and voluntary initiatives to settle workers’ health rights and social needs. The WSC enforcement empowered workers to bargain their rights toward a safe workplace and made them responsible for responding during an emergency. Finally, the paper argues that the WSC in the RMG sector nowadays covers a wide range of initiatives in three broad areas: physical environment safety, workers’ health issues, and workers’ rights.