Time to Act: 84 Die and 250 Injured in Bangladesh Workplace Disasters

by James Parks, Mar 26, 2006

Rob Wayss, the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center’s representative in Bangladesh, sent us a report on a series of recent workplace accidents there that killed 84 people in two weeks in February and actions that workers can take to make sure the factories are safe.

Bangladeshi workers are asking union members and their allies from around the globe to send letters of concern regarding the ongoing unsafe working conditions in Bangladesh garment factories to the government and to manufacturers. To send a letter, click here.

If the situation sounds familiar, it’s because the Bangladesh disaster resembles the tragic March 25, 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. in New York City, where 146 young immigrant women, some as young as 15, died after being trapped behind locked doors as fire spread through the ninth floor sweatshop where they worked. After the fire, the survivors’ stories of conditions in the shop spurred hundreds of activists across the state and the nation to push for fundamental job safety reforms.

Here’s what happened in the four tragedies:

• Feb. 23 at KTS Textile Industries, Chittagong: 61 dead, 100 injured. A fire caused by an electrical short circuit killed an estimated 61 workers (including 12-, 13- and 14-year-old girls) and injured approximately 100 more. Workers say locked exits prevented workers from escaping. Local media reported it was possible the main gate was intentionally locked at the time of the fire to prevent theft. The factory, which produces garments for U.S. companies, reportedly violated overtime laws, enforced seven-day workweeks, paid workers below subsistence level wages—between seven and 14 cents per hour—denied them legal maternity rights, physically abused workers and suppressed workers’ rights to freedom of association and bargain collectively.

 

• Feb. 25: Phoenix Building, Dhaka: 22 dead, 50 injured. A five-story building in the Tejgaon industrial area collapsed after unauthorized renovations to the upper stories of the building housing Phoenix Garments. Many of the dead appear to have been construction workers involved in the renovation, as well as people who were on an adjoining road at the time of the collapse and those who lived in the slum nearby. Phoenix Garments reportedly produced clothes for export to Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Finland and Denmark.

 

• Feb. 25: Imam Group, Chittagong: 57 injured. A transformer explosion caused workers to rush for the exits. Dozens were injured when they were unable to get out the narrow exits at this facility housing Moon Fashion Limited, Imam Fashion, Moon Textile, Leading Fashion and Bimon Inda factories. The factory’s clients reportedly include U.S. retail giant Kmart and U.S.-based Folsom Corp.

 

• March 6: Sayem Fashions, Gazipur: 3 dead, approximately 50 injured. A fire triggered by an electrical short circuit at the building housing Sayem Fashions, SK Sweater and Radiance Sweater lead to a stampede when workers attempting to escape were blocked by boxes. Workers’ organizations report that other workers’ rights violations at the facility include long working hours and seven-day workweeks. U.S. brands that have reportedly sourced at the factory include Charles F. Berg and Wet Seal.

 

Local unions are calling for the arrest and prosecution of factory owners where these tragedies occurred, as well as fines for those factories that continue to lock exits during working hours. Unions say they would like to the see the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the government cancel licenses of factories that do not meet health and safety standards. They also would like to see international buyers to implement their codes of conduct so workers no longer risk their lives producing clothes.

These tragedies follow a long line of similar and, sadly, preventable, incidents in the Bangladesh garment and textile industries. Local and international unions and non-governmental organizations have long been calling for large-scale improvements to conditions in the industry in Bangladesh, pressing for local and international stakeholders to take action.

Following the death of 64 workers in the collapse of the Spectrum-Shahriyar factory last year, Bangladesh unions and labor rights groups called for measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. These would include an independent international oversight program to examine occupational health and safety regulations and their implementation in the factories. Workers’ access to safe channels to communicate their concerns on such issues as health and safety to their employers must also be addressed.

The Bangladeshi unions and the Clean Clothes Campaign, which works extensively with the Bangladesh garment workers, are calling for an International Day of Health & Safety Action on April 11, the one-year anniversary of the Spectrum-Shahriyar collapse.

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