Negotiations for the Accord’s new version ended on November 6, and the agreement has been renewed for three years in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The new document mentions “the possibility of setting up safety and security programmes in other major garment-producing countries based on feasibility and extension criteria.”The Accord was formulated after the tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza complex in April 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, when lack of safety claimed the lives of 1,138 workers at a textile factory housed in an unsuitable building. It was the European equivalent of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a US-sponsored body that was dissolved in 2018, handing its responsibilities over to the Bangladeshi garment manufacturers and exporters association.

The Accord, which initially applied to Bangladesh only, was signed by over 170 apparel brands and buyers, and more than 1,400 garment factories. The pledges both sets of parties committed to have been instrumental in improving working conditions for over 2.2 million Bangladeshi textile workers. The latter are currently staging major demonstrations, demanding higher wages.At the end of 2022, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety was extended to a second Asian country, and was deployed in Pakistan. Japanese group Fast Retailing (owner of Uniqlo), was the first major apparel group to sign the agreement, which was designed to secure better safety conditions in Pakistani garment-producing factories. Over 80 Western brands are said to have signed the Accord ever since its introduction.The Accord will disclose in December the list of signatory brands and retailers, whose ranks have become thinner over time.