Safety lacking after Bangladesh factory disaster

WASHINGTON: A year after the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building left more than 1,100 dead, Washington says it remains concerned about worker safety and rights in Bangladesh.

In a briefing for journalists, a group of senior US officials said progress had been made getting the government in Dhaka to crack down on dangerous practices and give millions of workers in the country more power to protect themselves.

But the country still has a ways to go, they said, after the deadliest textile factory disaster in history left 1,135 dead on April 24 last year.

The poorly built nine- story Rana Plaza outside Dhaka was a warren of shops producing garments for export, including for major international brands like Italy’s Benetton, Britain’s Primark and Spain’s Mango.

Its collapse came six months after a fire at the Tazreen garment factory killed 111, further highlighting the deep safety issues in the country’s us$ 20 billion clothing industry.

“We have seen progress in many areas, to include increased registration of unions, harmonized fire and structural safety standards, (and) an increased hiring of inspectors” whose reports are publicly accessible, said one US official speaking on the basis of anonymity.

“We still have concerns however about labor rights and workplace safety in Bangladesh and there’s still a lot of work to be done, particularly on the legal side of things.” — AFP