ASIA - Bangladeshi Garment Factory Collapse

The greed-driven garment industry, profits before workers......

"Global Standards for Garment Industry Under Scrutiny After Bangladesh Disaster" PBS Newshour 4/26/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The Bangladeshi garment factory collapse is the worst disaster ever for the country's booming clothing industry.  Ray Suarez discusses the role of Western retailers in keeping foreign workers safe with Avedis Seferian of Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production and Scott Nova of Worker Rights Consortium.

RAY SUAREZ (Newshour):  Wailing relatives tried to console one another as the death toll from Wednesday's collapse of an eight-story building kept climbing.  This father was left weeping with his son's coffin at his feet.  Others held up photos of loved ones still missing.

WOMAN:  For the last three days, I have been looking for my sister, but no trace.  I want get my sister back, alive or dead.

RAY SUAREZ:  So far, rescue crews have pulled more than 80 survivors from the rubble.  One government official said 41 of those were found alive in a single room overnight.  At a nearby hospital, an 18-year-old worker described her ordeal.

WOMAN:  First, a machine fell over my hand and I was crushed under the debris.  Then the roof collapsed over me.  I was rescued last night, but my hand had to be amputated.

RAY SUAREZ:  And with high humidity and daytime temperatures reaching 95 degrees, there are fears that time is running out for those still trapped.

Meanwhile, a local television station released video showing police inspecting the site on Tuesday, a day before the deadly collapse.  Large cracks were visible, but garment factories at the site continued running anyway.

Some of them make clothing for several major retailers in North America.  Today, thousands of garment workers protested poor conditions and called for the building's owners to be punished.  Some demonstrators clashed with police, but the rallies were mostly peaceful.  This new disaster came just five months after a garment factory fire in Bangladesh killed 112 workers.

For more on all of this, we get two views.  Avedis Seferian is the president and CEO of Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production, or WRAP, an organization created by the American Apparel and Footwear Association, along with buyers and brands around the world.  And Scott Nova is executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, a labor rights monitoring organization.