Bangladesh’s apparel makers are against the tenure extensions of Accord and Alliance. They do not want Accord and Alliance to stay in the country after 2018. They have however, expressed gratitude to the two western retailers’ platforms for extending support to resolve problems and improve workplace safety in the country’s readymade garment sector.

Their tenure will expire in mid-2018. More than 15 brands and retailers including H&M, C&A, Loblaw, Primark, Inditex and PVH and two global rights groups - UNI Global Union and IndustriAll Global Union - on June 29 signed an agreement in Paris to extend Accord's tenure for three more years till 2021.

The agreement puts greater emphasis on the rights of workers to organise and join a union, recognising that workers' empowerment is fundamental to assuring workplace safety, and also presents the possibility of Accord expanding to sectors other than the readymade garment industry.

Meanwhile Bangladesh’s apparel makers have demanded cash incentives, a separate exchange rate of dollar for exports, a reduction in bank interest rates and gas prices and other infrastructural costs to help the sector be price competitive. They want the sector’s image to be refurbished through effective public relations activities.