An Evaluation of Multi-Stakeholders’ Initiatives on Safety of Workers after the Rana Plaza Collapse

After the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, two multi-stakeholders’ initiatives—‘The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh” and “Alliance”—were taken by large retailers, brands and buyers from Europe and North America with the aim of factory inspection, remediation efforts, safety training programs and compensation to the workers of the RMG sector. This chapter evaluates these multi-stakeholders’ initiatives and examines how these transnational alliances have emerged as a collaborative labor governance system in Bangladesh going beyond the traditional labor regulation and corporate code of conduct. The Accord and the Alliance combine both voluntary and binding forms of regulation for holding corporations accountable for labor rights violations in their supply chain that represents a major shift in labor governance mechanisms. These collaborative efforts of brands and buyers with suppliers and Bangladeshi factory owners helped improve compliance with standards on health and safety aspects of the RMG industry.