2 years after Rana Plaza tragedy, garment workers still suffer poor conditions

Hundreds of Bangladeshi garment workers have staged a protest just outside of the capital Dhaka demanding justice for the victims of an apparel factory that collapsed two years ago.

Protesters, including trade union members, relatives of the victims, and hundreds of survivors, gathered around the disaster site to commemorate the second anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy on Friday.

Demonstrators shouted slogans, cried for compensation for the victims, and called for safety and labor rights in thousands of garment factories across the country.

They blamed the government for negligence in paying adequate compensations to the victims' families and for postponing the trials of factory managers.

Rana Plaza, located in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka, collapsed due to a structural failure on April 24, 2013, killing more than 1,100 people and injuring over 2,500 others, most of them female workers.

The collapse of the eight-story building, which housed five garment factories, is considered the deadliest garment-factory accident in history.

According to investigators, the complex was erected on a swampy land, against the construction regulations of the country, and was overloaded with machines and generators, and poorly maintained. To make things worse, the owner had added floors in violation of the original building plan.

Since the 2013 disaster, Bangladesh has been under pressure to improve working conditions in its garment industry.

“If Bangladesh wants to avoid another Rana Plaza disaster, it needs to effectively enforce its labor law and ensure that garment workers enjoy the right to voice their concerns about safety and working conditions without fear of retaliation or dismissal,” said Phil Robertson, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, on Wednesday.

Four million workers, mainly women, are working in the country's 5,000 garment factories. The clothing industry in Bangladesh, second only to China, earns over USD 20 billion a year from exports of garment products, mostly to Europe and the United States.

RS/AS/MHB

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