87 Dead in Bangladesh Garment Factory Collapse

[georgephillip]

"Brave New Films, the film studio that produced the ground-breaking documentary, 'Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price,' is holding an online vote to pick the 'worst of the 1%.'

"They’re looking for the person who is doing the most with their wealth to exploit the rest of the country – and to privatize public services and public trust resources.

"Walmart Watch is urging people to vote for Rob Walton, chairman of Walmart and an heir to the Walton’s family fortune, as the worst of the one percenters.

"Walmart Watch is an organization that 'seeks to hold Walmart fully accountable for its impact on communities, the American workforce, the retail sector, the environment and the nation’s economy.'”

Socialize the cost.
Privatize the profit.
Where all fortunes come from?

Wal-Mart Chairman Rob Walton: The Worst of the One Percent?

 

[waltky]

Will reform last after the cameras have gone?...

Can Worker Safety Momentum in Bangladesh Last?
May 16, 2013 - Human rights and labor advocates are welcoming a joint agreement by clothing retailers and brand name companies that calls for improving conditions for garment factory workers in Bangladesh.

Western retailers, most of them European, agreed to the plan after a building housing garment factories in Dhaka collapsed last month, killing more than 1,100 people. Some advocates, however, are concerned that efforts to improve working conditions in the country will fade as the Dhaka tragedy moves out of the news spotlight. Amnesty International advocacy director T. Kumar said the steps that Western retailers have taken, so far, are remarkable. But on VOA's Press Conference USA, he questioned if the momentum would last. "Our fear is whether it will last long. Whether it’s an immediate, knee-jerk reaction,” he said.

Western retailers agreed to a broad safety plan that requires them to conduct inspections and cover the costs of safety upgrades. Top global brands such as Italy's Benetton and Sweden's H&M are part of the agreement, which was led by the International Labor Organization. Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights director Charles Kernaghan said the new multinational safety agreement is a "turning point" for the garment industry, whose workers are mainly women. “This is a game changer and it never would have happened if these poor young women were not crushed to death, and suffocated to death and burned to death in collapse of the Rana Plaza building,” he said.

He said there is "always the possibility" that retailer enthusiasm for monitoring safety standards could dim. Kernaghan said while the Bangladeshi government has a role in enforcing safety and improving work conditions, the real power lies with the retailers who are supporting an industry that employs more than 4 million garment workers. "The U.S. companies, North American companies, European companies are in Bangladesh specifically because it has the lowest wages in the world. Twelve cents an hour for helpers, 22 cents for junior sewers, 26 cents for senior sewers, 13 to 14.5 hours a day, sometimes seven days a week. Basically the workers get just two days off a month," said Kernaghan.

The new agreement addresses some of these concerns by setting new standards for worker rights. The provision calls for establishing an advisory board that will facilitate talks among governments, retailers and trade unions. It also sets up a fire and building safety training program. Noticeably missing from the agreement is Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer. The U.S.-based company has come up with its own plan, which includes inspections of all 279 of its suppliers' factories in Bangladesh. Also, the GAP chain of stores says it will not be part of the agreement unless changes are made to limit legal liability.

MORE

 

[Dragonlady]

About a week before this tragic event in Bangla Desh, I was having a discussion with the owner of a mid-range women's clothing store. This wasn't a discount store at all. Suits were designer labels, and cost around $200 for a two piece outfit. The store owner said that when he first opened his store in the 1970's, there were 17,000 unionized garment workers working in Toronto. Today, there are none. The same could be said about the 7th Avenue garment district in New York, although I expect there were more than 17,000 in New York.

This week, I was shopping at Winners with my daughter. Winners in Canada is like TJ Max in the US - designer labels at discount prices. Everything was made in China. I couldn't find a single garment made in North America. When all of your medium to high end good are coming from third world countries, how can local people have jobs?

 

[Katzndogz]

Unions are pretty much dying.

What's interesting is WHY. In the 50s, the most powerful union in the US was the communist backed International Ladies Garment Worker's Union. I remember seeing their commercials on our old black and white "Look for the Union Label".

ILGWU was destroyed in a union battle and taken over by the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union to form a new union, the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees. That Union merged with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union. Each subsequent take over less and less interested in garment workers but seized union dues to further their own interests. The leadership of these new unions had no experience nor interest in garment making nor with the new immigrants working in the factories. The old immigrants, primarily Jewish and Italians with strong socialist political views had been replaced by immigrants from Mexico, Asia, or the Dominican Republic with experience in accepting graft as a condition of employment and no interest in social programming at all. Union dues were just what you paid to the union bosses to work. These immigrants were used to such bribery.

Not surprisingly union membership fell dramatically as more and more people had a greater desire to keep those dues for their own use, rather than maintain corrupt labor leaders who didn't care about them but just wanted the money.

As bad as this industrial accident is, and it is no better or worse than dozens of other industrial accidents from a mine cave in to an explosion in West, Texas, the people in Bangladesh who worked at this factory were able to use their wages to improve their own existence and they have a right to do that.

It isn't surprising to find that there isn't a single item of clothing labeled made in the USA. Only imported clothing has to be labeled with a country of origin. An American made garment isn't required to have a label.

As a hint, just a HINT. You have to shift looking at country of origin labels and educate yourself as to manufacturer labels. Then make it your business to know which manufacturer is based in the US. I'll make it easy for you. I'll give you a list.


America Clothing factories in the USA

I'll even give you a list of Canadian clothing manufacturers.

Made in Canada - Retail Clothing Stores

Now go shopping.

 

[Katzndogz]

Choosing where to spend one's money is a two edged sword. I will not buy anything made with union labor. Having had extensive experience with unions, I won't give them a dime. I look at labels very carefully to make sure that what I'm buying has a country or origin outside the US and outside of union influence.

 

[Dragonlady]

Choosing where to spend one's money is a two edged sword. I will not buy anything made with union labor. Having had extensive experience with unions, I won't give them a dime. I look at labels very carefully to make sure that what I'm buying has a country or origin outside the US and outside of union influence.

First off, the money you pay for the goods doesn't go to the unions, it goes to the COMPANY that manufactured it, and they pay the employees who made it with your dollars. And those people go to their local stores and they buy goods and services with the money they earned. And everybody wins.

ANYONE who buys off-shore goods on purpose, is contributing to the mess the US economy is currently in. Nice work.

I take it you don't buy American made cars either. Japanese only since the European workers are all unionized.

 

[Katzndogz]

Choosing where to spend one's money is a two edged sword. I will not buy anything made with union labor. Having had extensive experience with unions, I won't give them a dime. I look at labels very carefully to make sure that what I'm buying has a country or origin outside the US and outside of union influence.

First off, the money you pay for the goods doesn't go to the unions, it goes to the COMPANY that manufactured it, and they pay the employees who made it with your dollars. And those people go to their local stores and they buy goods and services with the money they earned. And everybody wins.

ANYONE who buys off-shore goods on purpose, is contributing to the mess the US economy is currently in. Nice work.

I take it you don't buy American made cars either. Japanese only since the European workers are all unionized.

And the unions pick the pocket of those employees as a condition of keeping their jobs.

I wouldn't take an American made car if they paid ME. There are many foreign cars made here, but without union labor. Those cars I would buy.

Aside from putting money into union bosses bank accounts, your American made car is put together by guys like this.

Chrysler?s Drunk, Stoned Autoworkers Are Back Making Cars | The Truth About Cars

They are back! Two years ago, a group of Chrysler workers were caught were caught drinking and doobing on their lunch break. Not just that, they were caught on camera by a local TV station. The video went viral, and Chrysler was forthwith associated with quality enhanced by booze and marijuana. 13 workers were fired. Yesterday, they got their jobs back, courtesy of Chrysler’s contract with the UAW.

No wonder there are so many recalls.

 

[georgephillip]

Will reform last after the cameras have gone?...

Can Worker Safety Momentum in Bangladesh Last?
May 16, 2013 - Human rights and labor advocates are welcoming a joint agreement by clothing retailers and brand name companies that calls for improving conditions for garment factory workers in Bangladesh.

Western retailers, most of them European, agreed to the plan after a building housing garment factories in Dhaka collapsed last month, killing more than 1,100 people. Some advocates, however, are concerned that efforts to improve working conditions in the country will fade as the Dhaka tragedy moves out of the news spotlight. Amnesty International advocacy director T. Kumar said the steps that Western retailers have taken, so far, are remarkable. But on VOA's Press Conference USA, he questioned if the momentum would last. "Our fear is whether it will last long. Whether it’s an immediate, knee-jerk reaction,” he said.

Western retailers agreed to a broad safety plan that requires them to conduct inspections and cover the costs of safety upgrades. Top global brands such as Italy's Benetton and Sweden's H&M are part of the agreement, which was led by the International Labor Organization. Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights director Charles Kernaghan said the new multinational safety agreement is a "turning point" for the garment industry, whose workers are mainly women. “This is a game changer and it never would have happened if these poor young women were not crushed to death, and suffocated to death and burned to death in collapse of the Rana Plaza building,” he said.

He said there is "always the possibility" that retailer enthusiasm for monitoring safety standards could dim. Kernaghan said while the Bangladeshi government has a role in enforcing safety and improving work conditions, the real power lies with the retailers who are supporting an industry that employs more than 4 million garment workers. "The U.S. companies, North American companies, European companies are in Bangladesh specifically because it has the lowest wages in the world. Twelve cents an hour for helpers, 22 cents for junior sewers, 26 cents for senior sewers, 13 to 14.5 hours a day, sometimes seven days a week. Basically the workers get just two days off a month," said Kernaghan.

The new agreement addresses some of these concerns by setting new standards for worker rights. The provision calls for establishing an advisory board that will facilitate talks among governments, retailers and trade unions. It also sets up a fire and building safety training program. Noticeably missing from the agreement is Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer. The U.S.-based company has come up with its own plan, which includes inspections of all 279 of its suppliers' factories in Bangladesh. Also, the GAP chain of stores says it will not be part of the agreement unless changes are made to limit legal liability.

MORE

Corporate Capitalists and Human Rights

"As with all recent (2012) elections in America, the corporate capitalist domination of this system prevents any discussion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"In 1948, more than 50 countries agreed the tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provided the path forward for humanity.

"In 2012, both presidential candidates seem intent on shredding those universal ideas.

"Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney does not subscribe to Section 1, Article 25 of the Declaration of Human Rights. It states:

“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”

"Now contrast that with Romney’s comments to donors at a private fundraiser in Florida in May, 2012.

"This is a direct quote:

“'There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them.'”

42.7% of US voters chose Money Mitt.
In another generation, those capitalist cameras won't even have to show up in Bangladesh.

 

[Katzndogz]

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has nothing to do with any company. It is a feel good declaration that SHOULD have no effect whatsoever.

 

[Dragonlady]

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has nothing to do with any company. It is a feel good declaration that SHOULD have no effect whatsoever.

There's a good corporatist for you. No rights for ANYONE!!!

 

[waltky]

More accidents waitin' to happen...

More Bangladesh factories dangerous
Jun 13,`13 -- Bangladeshi garment factories are routinely built without consulting engineers. Many are located in commercial or residential buildings not designed to withstand the stress of heavy manufacturing. Some add illegal extra floors atop support columns too weak to hold them, according to a survey of scores of factories by an engineering university that was shown to The Associated Press.

A separate inspection, by the garment industry, of 200 risky factories found that 10 percent of them were so dangerous that they were ordered to shut. The textiles minister said a third inspection, conducted by the government, could show that as many as 300 factories were unsafe. Taken together, the findings offer the first broad look at just how unsafe the working conditions are for the garment workers who produce clothing for major western brands. And it's more bad news for the $20 billion industry that has been struggling to regain the confidence of Western retailers and consumers following a November fire at the Tazreen Fashions Ltd. factory that killed 112 people and the April collapse of the Rana Plaza building that killed 1,129 people in the worst garment industry tragedy. But the proliferation of inspections could signal the industry is finally taking its workers' safety seriously.

Rana Plaza was `'a wakeup call for everybody" to ensure their buildings were structurally sound, said Shahidullah Azim, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. "Earlier it was not in our minds. We never, ever thought of this," he said. But Rana Plaza wasn't the first factory building to collapse in Bangladesh. In 2005, the Spectrum sweater factory crumbled on top of workers, killing 64. That building was also found to have illegal additions.

After the Rana collapse, the government and the garment manufacturers asked the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology to begin evaluating the buildings. The university formed 15 teams of two engineers each - a structural expert and a foundation expert - to conduct initial inspections, examining a building's support columns, frame, foundation and the soil it was built on, said Mujibur Rahman, head of the university's department of civil engineering. Rahman said further tests using sophisticated equipment will be completed in the coming months.

AP was shown initial results of some of the inspections of about 200 buildings - many of them garment factories - on condition the factories not be identified. The owners volunteered their buildings for inspection - even paying for the surveys - a decision that suggests they are among the more safety conscious in the industry. The remainder of the country's 4,000 garment factories could be worse, said Rahman. While initial inspections showed that many of the factories appeared safe, some had problems so serious that engineers recommended they be immediately shut down. Others were told to seal off the illegal floors at the tops of their buildings and gingerly remove the heavy equipment stored there. `'There were buildings that we found that were really critical and we asked them to immediately vacate those buildings," Rahman said.

MORE

 

[sitarro]

It's completely outrageous that conservatives care more the unborn Americans than they do about living people in countries they exploit and abuse for cheap goods.

The customers of the people who buy clothing from the companies subcontracting to these countries need to demand that the clothing be made in humane conditions. If it were cats of dogs doing this work, Americans would call it cruel and inhumane. People are deserving of decent conditions where going to work isn't risking your life.

Nobody in my circle of family and friends buy clothes at WalMart, those tend to be members of osama's constituency that buy their tacky assed "clothes" there. For example........

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR19pfNk-3Q]Crazy People of Walmart - Version 5 - YouTube[/ame]

 

[waltky]

Higher minimum wage wanted...

Bangladesh garment workers, police clash
September 23, 2013 ~ BANGLADESHI garment workers calling for an increase in the minimum wage have clashed with police outside Dhaka.

POLICE have fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse thousands of garment workers who blocked streets outside Bangladesh's capital to demand factory owners raise their minimum wage. Police say at least 50 people were injured in Sunday's clashes outside Dhaka.

Police official Abul Kalm Azad said the workers were demanding that their minimum monthly wage be increased to 8114 takas ($A105), up from the current 3000 takas ($A40). He said the workers attacked some factories and torched a van.

Factory owners are unwilling to increase the wage beyond 3600 takas, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Bangladesh earns about $US20 billion a year from exports of garment products.

Read more: Bangladesh garment workers, police clash | News.com.au

 

[waltky]

Bangladesh Factory Owners Face Murder Charges...

Tazreen clothing factory owners face arrest over fatal fire
Wednesday, 01 January, 2014, A Bangladesh court has ordered the arrest of the owners of a garment factory in which 111 workers died in a blaze.

Four other people were also ordered to be taken into custody after police laid charges in connection with the incident on November 24, 2012 - the country's worst-ever clothing factory fire. The court in Dhaka yesterday issued the warrants for Delwar Hossain and his wife Mahmuda Akter over the blaze at the Tazreen factory, where workers stitched clothes for Western retailers. "Dhaka's senior judicial magistrate Wasim Sheikh issued the warrants of arrest against the two fugitive owners … and four other company officials for the Tazreen factory fire," prosecutor Anwarul Kabir said.

The tragedy shone an international spotlight on appalling safety conditions in an industry worth more than US$20 billion a year. The factory, which was located in the Ashulia industrial district, supplied clothes to a variety of international brands including US giant Walmart, Dutch retailer C&A and ENYCE, a label owned by US rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Delwar Hossain, owner of the Tazreen Fashions garment factory.

Kabir said the court accepted charges by police against all 13 people implicated in the fire after officers earlier this month completed a 13-month investigation into the tragedy. "The owners and 11 others have been charged with arson, culpable homicide not amounting to murder and death by negligence," Kabir said, adding that they all faced a possible maximum term of life in prison.

The six whose arrest was ordered were neither in court nor custody. Police last week said it was possibly the first time a garment plant owner had been charged over a fire at one of the nation's 4,500 factories, where fatal accidents are common. Factory owners are rarely charged over such tragedies in the sector, which is a mainstay of the impoverished country's economy, accounting to up to 80 per cent of Bangladesh's exports.

Bangladesh: Tazreen clothing factory owners face arrest over fatal fire | South China Morning Post

 

[waltky]

Turned themselves in to police...

Bangladesh factory owners surrender
Mon, Feb 10, 2014 - DEADLY FIRE: Delwar Hossain and his wife, Mahmuda Akter, surrendered yesterday after a court issued warrants for their arrests in the fatal 2012 garment factory blaze

Owners of a Bangladeshi garment factory surrendered to a court yesterday, more than a month after warrants for their arrest were issued over the country’s worst industrial fire that killed 111 workers. Delwar Hossain and his wife, Mahmuda Akter, were charged and sought for arrest in December over a 2012 blaze that gutted the Tazreen factory where workers stitched clothes for Western retailers, including Walmart. Prosecutor Anwarul Kabir said the couple handed themselves in to the magistrate’s court in Dhaka and were currently in custody awaiting a bail hearing. “They have sought bail upon surrendering to the court. The court will hold a hearing on their bail prayers later today,” Kabir said.

Although warrants were issued on Dec. 31, police have not arrested Hossain and Akter, who have been living freely in Dhaka. It is unclear why they have now decided to give themselves up. The pair are among 13 people — including factory managers and security guards — charged with arson, culpable homicide not amounting to murder and death by negligence over the tragedy. All face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. The November 2012 fire — the country’s deadliest at a garment factory — highlighted appalling safety problems in the sector, a mainstay of the economy, where about four million workers toil for some of the lowest sector wages in the world. Bangladesh suffered an even greater tragedy just months later in April when the Rana Plaza garment factory complex collapsed in Dhaka’s outskirts.

The owner of Tazreen Fashions, Delwar Hossain, center, is escorted to court in Dhaka yesterday. The owners of the garment factory were denied bail after surrendering to a court which sought their arrest.

The fire killed 1,135 people in one of the world’s worst industrial disasters. Police have said it was possibly the first time an owner has been charged over a fire in the sector, where deadly accidents are common. Manufacturers are hugely influential in Bangladesh, where some flout safety rules for the 4,500 garment factories, which account for up to 80 percent of the impoverished country’s exports. Hossain, who since the tragedy has been barred from leaving the country, has been accused of breaching construction rules including building unsafe and narrow staircases in the nine-story building. Victims of the fire, mostly women who were paid as little as US$37 a month, found themselves overcome by smoke or were forced to jump from windows on upper floors, police said.

Managers and security guards were charged over their insistence workers return to their duties even though smoke was billowing from the ground floor where the fire started, according to a police investigation report. The factory, in the Ashulia industrial district, supplied clothes to a variety of international brands including US giant Walmart, Dutch retailer C&A and ENYCE, a label owned by US rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs. The industry is the world’s second largest after China and factory owners — many of whom are also lawmakers and owners of banks and insurers — wield great influence in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh factory owners surrender - Taipei Times