The Alliance has rejected reports of four global rights groups saying that in several areas, it misrepresented and oversimplified the complexities of the western retailers' platforms including efforts of the Accord to improve worker safety in Bangladesh. Observed Ellen O'Kane Tauscher, Independent Chair of Alliance, in a statement that the Alliance stands by its progress which is validated by an accomplished team of on-the-ground engineers and professional staff and Alliance remains committed to its mission of creating a safer environment for millions of workers that make a living in Bangladeshi factories.

The Accord has never raised any of the issues contained in this report. While some may seek to set up a false sense of competition between the two organizations (Alliance and Accord), Alliance continues to work closely together on the ground to advance factory safety on behalf of millions of garment workers in Bangladesh, she added.

Tauscher’s statement came one day after four global rights groups' allegation that the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety has overplayed progress with rosy status reports while workers' lives remain at risk. The rights groups, namely, International Labour Rights Forum, Worker Rights Consortium, Clean Clothes Campaign and Maquila Solidarity Network prepared the report based on 175 factories which supply apparels to one or more of these five Alliance member-corporations-Walmart, Gap, Target, Hudson Bay and VF Corporation and for which the Accord publishes detailed progress reports.

The Alliance and its member-companies share the same ultimate goal as that of The Accord in creating a safer future for garment workers of Bangladesh, she said. The Alliance remains committed to working collaboratively with the Accord, the National Action Plan and other key stakeholders to achieve this goal over the next 18 months, she reiterated.