1.

Who we are
The RMG Sustainability Council (RSC) is an unprecedented private national tripartite initiative to
carry forward the significant accomplishments made in workplace safety in Bangladesh. The
RSC was set up by three incorporating members representing each of the three constituents
from Industry, Global Fashion Brands and Global and Local Trade Unions.
The RSC conducts structural, electrical, fire & life safety and boiler safety inspections, supports
and monitors remediation, conducts safety training, and operates an independent occupational
safety & health complaints mechanism available to workers in covered RMG factories.
The company’s vision is to deliver world-class sustainable workplace safety programmes and to
make the RMG Industry a safe and better place to work.

2. What We Do
The RSC conducts structural, electrical, fire and boiler safety inspections, supports and
monitors remediation, conducts safety training and operates an independent safety & health
complaints mechanism available to workers in RMG factories in Bangladesh.

3. Factory Inspections All factories producing for signatory companies undergo independent
regular structural, electrical and fire safety inspections. The RSC has initiated its structural, electrical
and fire safety inspections amid COVID-19 Pandemic.

4. Monitoring Remediation The RSC monitors remediation progress and facilitates brand
support for remediation. Updated Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) are published online.

5. Safety Training Joint labour-management Safety Committees are trained, and all factory
workers are informed about essential workplace safety via All Employee Meetings (AEM’s)

6. Resolving Safety Complaints Workers and their representatives have a right to refuse
unsafe work and can raise complaints with the RSC safety and health complaints mechanism.

About Us
The RSC was officially registered by the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock
Companies and Firms, Bangladesh on 20 May 2020 to be a safety monitoring body in
the RMG sector in Bangladesh. The RSC is a private initiative of the Bangladesh
Industry, global brands and global and local Bangladeshi trade unions. The RSC was
set up by three incorporating members representing each of the three constituents:
  Industry: The Shondhi Limited
 Brands: Brands Association for Textile & RMG Sustainability in Supply Chains
 Trade Unions: Trade Union Association for Textile & RMG Sustainability in
Supply Chains

The RSC has a Board of Directors consisting of 18 representatives, 6 from each RSC
member organisation.

Transition of Operations in Bangladesh from Accord to RSC

On 14 January 2020, Representatives of the BGMEA and the Steering Committee of

the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh signed an agreement on
transition to RMG Sustainability Council. Therefore, on 1 June 2020 the RSC has
inherited the operations, staff, policies and infrastructure of the local Bangladesh Accord
office. The RSC is now equipped to implement health and safety inspections and
remediation monitoring, safety training and safety complaints handling functions. The
RSC is committed to making key aspects of the programme publicly available, including
initial inspection reports and remediation progress through up-to-date CAPs.

Through the work of the RSC, covered factories will be able to complete their existing
CAPs and ensure that all outstanding safety issues are remediated and verified as
correctly fixed, and that the labour-management Safety Committees in the factories are
equipped and empowered to monitor and address workplace safety on a daily basis.

The RSC will operate within the regulatory framework of the laws of Bangladesh, closely
co-operating with and supporting the relevant regulatory agencies of the Government of
Bangladesh.

VISION

A world-class workplace safety programme, enabling sustainable business and

developing the supply chain.

AIM

It is our aim to maintain and create a safe and trustable RMG industry as the preferred
production source for international fashion business promoting development and
employment in matters of safety.

MISSION
Our mission is to sustain and continuously develop a safe, humane and sustainable
Bangladeshi RMG industry in a tri-partite approach, including industry, unions and
brands, by jointly implementing a sectorial safety standard minimising health peril and
preventing avoidable accidents and empowering factory management and workers
through training and capacity building.

OBJECTIVES

The specific objectives of the RSC are:

1. To promote, govern and oversee the implementation of Occupational Safety and

Health standards and to verify the compliance with applicable safety standards in
the RMG and related industries in Bangladesh especially in the areas of
Structural Integrity, Electrical Safety, Fire & Life Safety and Boiler Safety.
2. To conduct inspections in the areas of structural, electrical, fire & life safety and
boiler safety as well as inspections to investigate safety complaints, and special
inspections following Safety Committee findings and industrial accidents, and
eventually regarding industrial relations, skills development, and environmental
standards; to monitor, verify and recognise remediation.
3. To maintain and further develop an extensive fire and building safety training
programme to provide extensive and detailed training on Occupational Safety
and Health in the factories.
4. To cover effective safety procedures and precautions, as well as enable workers
to voice concerns and actively participate in activities to ensure their own safety
and to develop a depository of know-how and information regarding existing
safety hazards for the industry.
5. To promote, adopt and require compliance with existing or future national and
international laws, regulations and standards for fire and building safety
applicable for the RMG and other industries in Bangladesh, also through
relationships with national and international stakeholders.
6. To maintain and further develop a publicly accessible database with regularly
updated aggregated list of all suppliers in Bangladesh with specific details about
factory safety standards, inspection reports, remediation status and other
relevant non-competitive issues.
7. To supervise exporting RMG industry and related factories and permanently
monitor safety, compliance, and sustainability of existing and new factories and
to provide recognition of safe workplaces for garment employers and employees.
8. To maintain and further develop a worker complaint mechanism operating with
independence and free from interference from in-and-outside RSC, ensuring that
workers from factories can raise concerns about safety and health risks in a
timely fashion, safely and confidentially. To provide for quick and effective
remedy protecting anonymity, real and perceived impartiality, protection from
reprisal and independent decision-making in complaint resolutions.
9. To promote better Industrial Relations (IR), Skills Development, Welfare and
Environmental Sustainability, Pollution Control, and other Climate Positive
Initiatives.
 10. To appoint qualified Safety Officers and support staff as required to implement
the RSC programme, and to appoint a Board of Directors, Advisory Council, an
Executive Committee and other necessary subcommittees to support the RSC
governance and implementation of its programmes.

RSC Key Features

 Brands are in legal agreement with Unions and have a commitment to ensure safety
remediation of their producing business partners is financially feasible and
completed
 Transparent escalation process for Non-compliant Factories
 World-class permanent national initiative for garment factory Safety Inspections &
Remediation Programmes
 Full public disclosure of inspection reports & corrective action plans
 Safety Committee and Safety Training Programme delivered by NEBOSH certified
trainers
 Impartial Worker Occupational Safety and Health Complaints Mechanism
 Protection against retaliation for reporting safety-related matters
 Protection of right to refuse unsafe work
 Ongoing promotion of Right to Freedom of Association (FoA) to advance safety
 Training and Complaints Protocol to cover (FoA) rights
 Optional listing of home textiles and fabric & knit accessory suppliers
 Boiler Safety Inspection Programme

 Company audit
 Audit
 This audit is designed to undertake an inspection of general company standards
of health and safety management, policies and procedures in accordance with
current legislation, codes of practice and industry best practice procedures. The
audit findings, if acted upon, will help the company improve their safety
management standards throughout the company and reduce the likelihood of
accidents and incidents, as well as reducing the likelihood of enforcement action
being taken by a visiting enforcement officer. The 'corrective actions' section is
split into three levels, these being 'High', 'Medium' and 'Low'. High level actions
should be completed as soon as is reasonably practicable as these may lead to
serious injury or are a failure to meet the minimum requirements of legislation.
Medium level actions should be completed within a given timeframe e.g. 1 to 6
months, as these may lead to minor injury or a noncompliance with industry best
practice. Finally, Low level actions are not considered as compulsory, but would
demonstrate a commitment to achieving high levels of safety management within
the company. The auditor has made all reasonable efforts to obtain the required
information and evidence during the audit. However, if information and/or
evidence has not been supplied by the company, then a noncompliance will be
recorded.

 Do the company have a written Health and Safety policy?

 Yes No N/A

 Does the company have the required liability insurances in place?

 Yes No N/A

 Does the company produce written Method Statements/Safe Systems of Work to

cover its work?

 Yes No N/A

 Has the company identified significant potential hazards associated with the
company's business.
 Yes No N/A

 Are staff required to undertake work at height?

 Yes No N/A

 Are there any tasks which could potentially put staff at risk from manual handling
activities?

 Yes No N/A

 Does the company use potentially hazardous substances?

 Yes No N/A

 Do company operations expose staff to potentially high levels of vibration?

 Yes No N/A

 Do company operations expose staff to potentially high levels of noise?

 Yes No N/A

 Does the company have and maintain a fire log-book?

 Yes No N/A

 Has a fire risk assessment been undertaken at the company premises?

 Yes No N/A

 Do the company operate or use Display Screen Equipment?

 Yes No N/A
 Are gas bottles in use within the company?

 Yes No N/A

 Are mains gas systems and appliances used within the premises?

 Yes No N/A

 Are staff trained how to undertake before use inspections on electrical

equipment?

 Yes No N/A

 Has the company premises received its 5 yearly electrical competent person
checks?

 Yes No N/A

 Is electrical equipment subject to regular inspection & testing e.g. PAT

 Yes No N/A

 Does the company provide company vehicles or require staff to drive on company
business?

 Yes No N/A

 Are fork trucks used in the workplace?

 Yes No N/A

 Do the company provide trained first-aiders and/or appointed persons?

 Yes No N/A
 Have the company provided adequate first-aid boxes ( and eye-wash stations
where required)?

 Yes No N/A

 Is there a statutory accident book available?

 Yes No N/A

 Does the company have access to Competent Corporate Health & Safety advice in
accordance Reg. 7 of MHSWR 1999?

 Yes No N/A

 Do the company employ sub-contractors?

 Yes No N/A

 Do company activities require the use of PPE?

 Yes No N/A

 Do the company maintain a training matrix/register for all staff?

 Yes No N/A

 Have all staff received initial safety induction training?

 Yes No N/A

 Have staff received training in their general work tasks?

 Yes No N/A

 Does the company have a requirement for specific plant/equipment etc. training?
 Yes No N/A

 Are suitable facilities provided for the storage of work and personal clothing?

 Yes No N/A

 Are suitable levels of lighting provided throughout the workplace?

 Yes No N/A

 Are suitable rest facilities provided?

 Yes No N/A

 Are welfare facilities maintained in a clean and tidy state?

 Yes No N/A

 Have suitable numbers of toilets and washing facilities been provided for both
men and women?

 Yes No N/A

 Have the company designated outside smoking areas?

 Yes No N/A

 Is there a means of heating food and making hot drinks provided?

 Yes No N/A

 Is there a suitable supply of fresh wholesome drinking water?

 Yes No N/A
 Are the required competent person tests and inspections being undertaken at
required intervals?

 Yes No N/A

 Do management undertake recorded regular inspections of work tools,

equipment and plant?

 Yes No N/A

 Do staff undertake before use inspections on tools, equipment and plant?

 Yes No N/A

 Is there a planned preventative maintenance (PPM) programme in place?

 Yes No N/A

 Is there a suitable system in place for the reporting of faults and/or damage?

 Yes No N/A

 Is there available evidence that staff are trained to use tools, equipment and plant
provided for work purposes?

 Yes No N/A

 Was the company premises built prior to 1999?

 Yes No N/A

 Does the company use industrial racking?

 Yes No N/A

 Are compressed air systems in use within the company premises?

 Yes No N/A

 Are all areas generally clean and tidy?

 Yes No N/A

 Are items being stored correctly so as not to present a significant hazard?

 Yes No N/A

 Are trailing cables being correctly managed?

 Yes No N/A

 Are walkway and access/egress routes clear?

 Yes No N/A

 Is there adequate separation of vehicles and pedestrians?

 Yes No N/A