Bangladesh building collapse: Is the country's reputation among the injured?
| DHAKA
An eight-story building that housed garment factories and shops collapsed in Bangladesh聽on Wednesday, killing nearly 100 people and injuring more than a thousand, officials said.
One fireman told Reuters about 2,000 people were in the Rana Plaza building in Savar, 30 km (20 miles) outside Dhaka, when its upper floors slammed onto those below. An official at a control room set up to provide information said 96 people were confirmed dead and more than 1,000 injured.聽The Daily Star, a leading Bangladeshi newspaper, put that number at 106.
At the site of the collapsed聽Rana Plaza building, a frantic effort was underway to find and rescue victims. Television reports showed young women workers, some apparently semi-conscious, being pulled out by firefighters and troops.
Doctors at local hospitals said they were unable to cope with the number of victims brought in.
The building collapse, which follows a November fire at the聽Tazreen Fashion factory聽on the outskirts of Dhaka that killed 112 people, has compounded concerns about worker safety and low wages in Bangladesh.
The two major incidents, and a third in January that killed seven people, could taint Bangladesh's reputation as a source of low-cost products and services and call attention to Western retailers and other companies that obtain products from the country. But industry people and worker's groups in the United States say the lure of cheap manufacturing costs will keep retailers and buyers turning to Bangladesh.
Edward Hertzman, a sourcing agent based in New York who also publishes the trade magazine Sourcing Journal says pressure from U.S. retailers to keep a lid on costs continues to foster unsafe conditions.聽Hertzaman's clients include clothing manufacturers and retailers like PacSun, Oxford Industries 尝耻肠办测,听叠耻蹿蹿补濒辞.
Following the Tazreen fire, giant U.S. retailer聽Wal-Mart聽Stores Inc. said it would take measures to alleviate safety concerns, while聽Gap Inc.聽announced a four-step fire-safety program.
"It is going to take much more than retailers issuing press releases or paying compensation to victims," Hertzman said. "They're going to have to stop beating up the factories and start paying higher prices."
Entry level wages in these factories start at 14 cents an hour, said聽Charles Kernaghan, with the聽The Institute聽for Global Labour and Human Rights. The non-profit works with factory workers in Bangladesh聽and other parts of the world to help better working standards.
"The companies will stay in Bangladesh聽despite all the problems...In聽China, a comparable wage would be at least $1 an hour," Kernaghan said.
Hertzman, whose trade publication has offices in Bangladesh, said聽New Wave Bottoms Limited聽occupied the second floor,听Phantom Apparels Ltd聽on the third floor,听Phantom Tack Ltd聽on the fourth floor and聽Ethar Textile Ltd聽on the fifth.
U.S. children's clothing retailer Children's Place said that while New Wave had manufactured clothes for the company in the past, it hadn't at the time of the accident.
The New Wave website listed 27 main buyers, including firms from Britain,听Denmark,听France,听Germany,听Spain,听Ireland,听Canada聽and the聽United States.
Cracks in building聽
"I was at work on the third floor, and then suddenly I heard a deafening sound, but couldn't understand what was happening. I ran and was hit by something on my head," said factory worker Zohra Begum.
Mohammad Asaduzzaman, who was in charge of the area's police station, said factory owners appeared to have ignored a warning not to allow their workers into the building after a crack was detected in the block on Tuesday. Kernaghan, of the The聽Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights聽said the owner "sweet talked them into working, and assured them there was no danger."
Bangladesh, which employs about 3.6 million people in the garment industry, is the second-largest apparel exporting country in the world. But it has also gained a reputation for political red tape, worker strikes and poor working standards in its many garment factories, where factory owners have been accused by non-profits and unions of exploiting workers.
Annisul Huq, former president of the Bangladesh聽Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told Reuters that the BGMEA noticed the cracks on the聽Rana Plaza聽Tuesday and asked the owner to take corrective steps.
"The owner should not have used the factory while the cracks had developed, but it was a day of 'hartal' yesterday and he probably got no engineers to look at it," Huq said.
Hartals, or strikes, have been a persistent problem in the country, creating uncertainties in the supply chain and bottlenecks for business operations.
In March, The聽American Federation Of Labor聽& Congress Of Industrial Organizations filed a petition before the United States Trade Representative to remove Bangladesh聽from the list of eligible beneficiary developing countries. "The government of Bangladesh聽continues to fail to take steps to afford internationally recognized worker rights," the AFL-CIO 蝉补颈诲.听
Ghosts of Tazreen聽
In November, the Tazreen accident raised questions about how much control Western brands have over their supply chains for clothes sourced from Bangladesh.
A聽Wal-Mart聽supplier had subcontracted work to the Tazreen factory without authorisation. Since then,听Wal-Mart聽has said it is trying to get a better handle on its supply chain and to monitor safety at factories that produce its goods.
The聽Bangladeshi government聽subsequently confirmed workers' complaints about unsafe conditions, and also said the factory owner and supervisors prevented staff from leaving the premises after a fire alarm sounded.
Wal-Mart聽said Wednesday it still could not determine whether a factory in the building that collapsed was producing goods for the company.
Hertzman, the textiles broker, said the Tazreen fire has prompted his clients to pressure agents in the factories to be more accountable for safety.
"I've had two clients in the past two months who have said they need to go and inspect the factories in Bangladesh聽before placing orders for private label goods made for major usa retailers," said Hertzman.
He did not want to name the clients, but said one of them supplies apparel to Costco and the other supplies young men's clothes for retailers like Ross Stores, Sears and Macy's
"Bangladesh聽is the longest lead-time country and a difficult country to work in, so the only way it becomes competitive is by offering the lowest (cost). That's the Catch-22," he said.
"If the factories want to raise prices to make up for rising wages and costs, the buyers say, 'Oh why do we want to go to Bangladesh聽if I could go to聽China,听Vietnam,听Latin America聽etc for a similar price?"
