Nirapon, a self-regulating model providing factory building and fire safety monitoring, oversight and reporting services in Bangladesh for its member brands
Several former Alliance members and other brands committed to sustaining the culture of factory safety in Bangladesh have launched Nirapon, a locally managed organization tasked with overseeing the ongoing safety, training and helpline efforts of the factories from which Nirapon members source.
According to a press statement, Nirapon will monitor 600 factories from which its member brands source to verify that they continue to meet the National Action Plan’s standards for physical safety (structural, fire, and electrical); have implemented standardized training programs focused on worker safety; and continue to make the helpline service, Amader Kotha, available to their factory workers.
Over 20 brands and retailers are backing the new organization including The Children’s Place, Walmart, VF Crop, Nordstrom, Target, Macy’s, JC Penny, Gap Inc, Abercrombine & Fitch, and Li& Fung.
It will serve as a single point of contact between its members and the factories on these issues and will also focus on building local capacity to manage fire and building safety to sustain the investments in worker safety that have been made to date.
Nirapon is not a regulatory agency, but a member organization tasked with serving as a single point of contact between its member brands and factories on factory safety issues. Nirapon will have no authority to suspend factories, instead, leaving sourcing decisions to each of its members.
“Following Rana Plaza, Bangladesh has made tremendous progress towards building a safer RMG industry” said Moushumi Khan, Chief Executive Officer of Nirapon.
“Now, moving forward, Nirapon is poised to drive efficiencies and help maintain a critical focus on the rights of workers to a safe workplace.”
The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety winding down its operations from Bangladesh at the end of 2018.
