A year ago, on 11 April 2005, the garment factory Spectrum-Shahriyar collapsed. The catastrophe killed 64 people and injured another 74 - some of are to stay handicapped for life - and left hundreds of workers without an income. Since, victims have been fighting for their dignity, asserting their right to just and lasting compensation. They are also calling for the utmost to be done in order to prevent other tragedies from happening, but are struggling to make their voices be heard. A series of new deadly accidents, however, which occurred in February and March 2006, unfortunately shows how much more still needs to be done. Local trade unions have denounced the "irresponsibility and negligence" of those who organise the garment industry (i.e. the public authorities, local exporters and international buyers), and are determined to secure improvements. They have symbolically chosen 11 April, the anniversary date of the Spectrum-Shahriyar factory collapse, to celebrate an International Action Day for Workers’ Health & Safety in Bangladesh. They appeal to all those who are in solidarity with them all over the world to help spread and reinforce their proposals.

On Thursday 23 February 2006, approximately 1000 workers were working at the KTS Textile Industries factory in the port town of Chittagong. Around 7 p.m. an electric short-circuit caused a fire to break out. In a different context, the incident might only have caused material damage, but there was no fire-fighting equipment on the premises and the emergency exits were locked. Worse still: the main entrance had been intentionally bolted after the fire had started, in order to prevent workers from thieving during the general panic. The facts reveal that the disaster was no mere accident, but the result of criminal behaviour. There were heavy casualties, an estimated 63 dead (including twelve to fourteen year old girls) and around 100 injured.

Two days later, on the morning of Saturday 25 February, the Phoenix Building in the industrial estate of Teigaon, in Dacca, also collapsed. Building work - that had apparently been carried out without proper authorisation - intended to convert the top floors of the building into a private hospital is believed to have been at the root of the accident. The building was housing Phoenix Garment, a garment manufacturing unit due to move out of the building soon. This time, the main victims (22 dead, 50 injured) were the builders and passers-by.

145 dead in less than two weeks

On the very same day, at Chittagong, 57 workers at the Imam Group of Industries were injured following the explosion of an electrical transformer. Once again, narrow exits were at the heart of the problem.

Finally, on the evening of 6 March, a fire broke out on the third floor of the Sayem Fashion garment factory in Gazipur (35 km away from Dacca). The 1500 workers on duty at the time had only one staircase by which they could make their escape, which was cluttered with boxes. Three women were killed in the ensuing stampede.

This catalogue of disasters is not exceptional in Bangladesh. These accidents merely add to a list that is getting longer every day: 53 dead at Choudhury Knitwear in 2000, 24 at Maico Sweater in 2001, 9 at Misco Supermarket in 2004, 23 at Shan Knitting and 64 at Spectrum in 2005, and so on. According to a recent study undertaken by the Bangladesh Institute for Labour Studies, 130 workers in the textiles industry were killed during work in 2005 and a further 480 wounded.

In the wake of such tragedies, Bangladeshi organisations are mobilizing themselves. As it is an emergency, they are drawing up lists of the victims, alerting their international partners, and urging to the multinational companies that procure their supplies from the factories to put pressure on their government.

In the longer term, since April 2005 the trade unions (1) have been compiling a series of demands. First of all, they demand that the victims be decently compensated. For example, those of Spectrum did receive some emergency aid, and a special fund is in the process of being set up (2), but nothing has yet been settled for them in terms of lasting compensation to which they have a right. Following the most recent accidents, local organisations have called for compensation for every victim and for those held responsible for the accidents to be brought to justice.

Enforcing legislation

Often enough simply making sure the local health and safety legislation is properly followed would already make for real progress. Another demand concerns the creation of an effective control procedure to ensure the safety of buildings. Should this demand be met, international authorities and buyers could inspect the buildings and impose sanctions on companies whose buildings display serious faults (e.g. padlocked emergency exits, a lack of fire-fighting equipment, a lack of evacuation procedures, etc.). The trade unions are asking for the creation of an independent international control committee to supervise this programme.

Finally, transparency being a prerequisite for concrete and lasting improvements, the trade unions are also demanding that the public authorities investigate the accidents and start holding labour talks with local organisations.

On 11 April the trade unions organised a series of nationwide protest actions on the subject of health and safety (e.g. marches, press conferences, human chains, candlelit vigils). It was a highlight in a campaign that is to stretch over a long period. In order to reinforce their demands, the trade unions want international pressure to be exerted upon the government.

(1) Including the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF)
(2) At the initiative of the Zara Inditex company and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF).

FURTHER INFORMATION:

De l’Ethique sur l’étiquette - "Ethical labels"

The De l’Ethique sur l’Etiquette collective comprises 40 NGOs, trade unions and consumer movements, which take action to defend the rights of workers all over the world and particularly in the garment industry.

De l’Ethique sur l’étiquette is part of the European Clean Clothes Campaign network.

The Steering Committee is run by: the Comité Catholique de lutte contre la Faim et pour le Développement (CCFD); the Confédération Consommation, Logement et Cadre de Vie (CLCV); the Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (CFDT); the Fédération Artisans du Monde; the Association Léo Lagrange pour la Défense des Consommateurs; and the Fédération Peuples Solidaires.
www.ethique-sur-etiquette.org

An international campaign:

Protest action in support of the Bangladeshi organisations is currently underway in many European countries. More information about the planned protest action and further details on the whole issue are due to be posted on the Clean Clothes Campaign website: www.cleanclothes.org

Other French language websites:

Campagne Vêtements Propres (Belgique):
www.vetementspropres.be

Déclaration de Berne (Suisse) - Berne Declaration (Switzerland):
www.ladb.ch

WHAT TO DO?

By letter: copy the standard letter below or use your own wording; you can download it directly by clicking on the attachment at the bottom of this page. Send your letter to the address indicated below, and remember to add your own name, address and signature.

Reaction time: on reception. But you can send the letter until the end of July 2006 in order to give the campaign more importance.

PROTEST LETTER:

Begum Khaleda Zia
Honorable Prime Minister
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Office of the Prime Minister
Old Airport Road, Tejgaon
Dhaka-1000
Bangladesh

Date:

Dear Prime Minister,

I have been informed by the De l’éthique sur l’étiquette collective (French Clean Clothes Campaign) of four recent tragic incidents at Bangladeshi garment factories.

I call upon you to immediately follow up on these demands made in line with international standards and to:
  provide compensation for families of the workers who died, as well as free medical treatment and minimum compensation for each injured worker;
  see that any workers whose workplaces are closed due to these tragedies are paid a full salary for the duration that their workplaces are closed;
  ensure that there is full, impartial, and transparent investigation and follow-up into the causes of these incidents, including bringing those responsible for these tragedies to justice;
  impose a penalty for those factories that continue to lock exits during working hours;
  inspect all garment factories for compliance with minimum standards related to structural/building regulations, health, and safety, and withdraw the licences of those that do not implement these standards;
  ensure the right to organise and bargain collectively, and to receive and an appointment letter and a minimum wage in the entire sector.

Yours sincerely,

TRANSLATION

(Salutations)