The Jahangirnagar University Journal of Business Research, Vol. 21, June, 2020 ISSN 1681-9748 Multi-sectoral Initiative: A critical overview of the Accord in Bangladesh Mahmudul H Sumon * Abstract: The paper discusses how a key post-Tazreen/ Rana Plaza initiative, namely the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (Accord), a transnational/ multisectoral initiative meant to address worker’s health and safety at the Ready- Made Garments industry has gone into a transformation and nationalized in Bangladesh. The transformation indicates not only friction between the Accord and the local business elite but also a clear collaboration between the government and the local business elite when it comes to questions of governance of Bangladesh's garments sector. Through reviewing newspaper reports and analyzing some government statements, and other secondary sources, the paper builds around an increasingly important set of literature on neoliberal global order and its forging of global connections and import in the global south. Keywords: Multi-sectoral Initiatives, NGOs, Trade Union, Transnational governance, Bangladesh Accord, Garments industry. INTRODUCTION Bangladesh’s entry into the global economy as Ready Made Garments exporter took place in the early 1980s. The 1980s and 90s saw the beginning of industrial parks or specialized Export Processing Zones (EPZs). Separate laws were passed for the smooth running of these zones where Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was encouraged, workers’ rights were withheld and a smooth running of investment and capital was promised (Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Act, 1980 (No. 36) recently amended 1 ). Sporadic instances of industrial accidents began to be recorded throughout the 1990s (The Daily Star 2010), but a major blow came in 2005. 2 The more recent Rana Plaza building collapse on April 24, 2013, is considered one of the worst examples of industrial accidents anywhere in the world. It paved the way for the Accord on Fire and Building Safety (hereafter Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance), two key monitoring mechanisms to get its activities underway in the country. After the Tazreen fire (2012) and Rana Plaza collapse, several initiatives related to “compensation” (a contested term amongst workers, rights groups, and labor activists in Bangladesh) 3 have also been established, namely, the Rana Plaza Claim Administration and Tazreen Claims Administration Trust. Much like the Accord, ad hoc initiatives such as these created spaces where the government, brands, NGOs, and trade bodies could work together to implement certain activities. Between 2012 and 2017, despite some anticipations that Bangladesh may eventually lose the apparel market due to several industrial accidents, its exports have * Professor, Department of Anthropology, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh Email: sumonmahmud@juniv.edu