Sunday Times 2
Global clothes firms say Bangladesh must ensure fire
View(s):DHAKA, Dec 1 (Reuters) – International garment firms have demanded fast action to ensure the safety of Bangladeshi textile workers, a week after a plant fire killed more than 100 people, a senior industry official in the country said yesterday.
Mohammad Shafiul Islam, President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said a 19-member buyers’ forum was blunt in suggesting it would “lose confidence” in the country’s industry unless change came fast.
Rights groups have called on big-brand firms to sign up for a fire safety programme. Islam quoted company officials at the meeting on Friday as saying that while some factories in Bangladesh observed safety regulations, “many of them do not comply with these”.
Last week’s fire at Tazreen Fashions, Bangladesh’s worst-ever industrial blaze, was blamed by authorities on saboteurs. Police say narrow exits trapped workers inside the nine-storey building, killing 111 people and injuring more than 150.
Three employees have been arrested and police say they are being investigated for suspected negligence.
A senior official from the BGMEA said the association had agreed to pay one month in back wages on behalf of the plant and was trying to settle all outstanding issues.
The fire has drawn attention to global retailers that source clothes from Bangladesh where wages are low – as little as the equivalent of $37 for some workers.
The meeting was attended by representatives of major clothing companies, including H&M, TSS, SEARS, TCHIBO, Global Merchants, GAP Inc, Nike Inc, LEVIS, Kappahl, Carrefour and Primark. No representative of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was present.
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