UN human rights chief welcomes the building and fire safety accord

The United Nations human rights chief called for further actions to improve the working conditions of the country's garment sector.
“We welcome the fact that dozens of international companies have made a legal commitment to improve safety in Bangladesh's garment factories, in the wake of last month's building collapse that killed more than 1,127 people,” Navanethem Pillay said.
So far, 37 companies including major retailers in Europe such as Inditex, Arcadia Group, Carrefour and H&M have signed on to the Accord on Building and Fire Safety.
The signatories committed “to the goal of a safe and sustainable Bangladeshi readymade garment industry in which no worker needs to fear fires, building collapses or other accidents that could be prevented with reasonable health and safety measures”, said the International Labour Organisation's website.
Pillay called the agreement to be “important and in many ways unprecedented”, while calling for swift action to empower trade unions and overhaul the garment sector, with a far more stringent approach to oversight and inspection.