Bangladesh fire and safety: Walmart states its case
Earlier today, Walmart announced that it will conduct in-depth safety inspections at 100 percent of the factories in Bangladesh that produce goods for the retailer, require remediation as necessary, and increase transparency by making the results available to the public. This plan will help set a new standard for the safety of factories, the quality of safety inspections, and transparency in Bangladesh.
Walmart has participated with other stakeholders in discussing group efforts to improve working conditions in Bangladesh. The company, like a number of other retailers, is not in a position to sign the IndustriALL accord at this time. While we agree with much of the proposal, the IndustriALL plan also introduces requirements, including governance and dispute resolution mechanisms, on supply chain matters that are appropriately left to retailers, suppliers and government, and are unnecessary to achieve fire and safety goals.