Abstract
Following the deadly Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh in April 2013, noteworthy initiatives took place that broke new ground in transnational labour law. The article captures these experiments and notes their results. Both the Accord and the Arrangement consolidated the ILO’s role as a neutral broker and technical advisor in the search of practical solutions inspired partly by international labour standards. However, while largely successful, such efforts remain insufficient to achieve lasting change in the ready-made garment sector, where global brands’ buying practices constrains investment in OSH. Continued calls to enhance supply chain corporate accountability are now being sought in particular through a proposed binding instrument on business and human rights. The evolving draft United Nations treaty offers promise but, as part of a smart mix of public and private solutions at various levels, needs fine-tuning in the light of lessons learned through the post-Rana Plaza experiments.