Just noticing: “Observations Of A Blogger”
Posted by Michelle Moquin on 5th May 2013
Good morning.
“Just noticing…”
…If we keep demanding cheaper prices on the clothing that we buy…if we keep supporting stores such as Walmart, Target, Primark, Matalan and Mango, etc., we are having a direct effect on the livelihood of women garment workers. Team that up with a factory owner who cares more about his bottom line than the safety and well-being of his workers, and you get a catastrophe such as the recent one in Bangladesh.
BANGLADESH: Corruption harms women garment workers in building collapse
(WNN) Dhaka, BANGLADESH, SOUTH ASIA: In a city where work comes hard, the often grueling work of a woman garment workers, including migrant garment workers, in Dhaka can be filled with unseen danger. In the past 7 months the Tazreen Fashions building trapped mostly women textile workers as doors were locked shut killing 100 of the women who could not escape when fire broke out. The most recent danger in a different 8 story Rana Plaza Building collapse has killed over 380 garment workers in what has been described as the worst industrial accident for workers throughout Bangladesh. Over 2,220 people have been trapped in the rubble with injuries flooding medical facilities.
Rescue efforts for the survivors have been overwhelming and difficult as substandard equipment was the only equipment available and fire broke out during the recent rescue efforts out causing more deaths. Hopes for finding anyone else alive has at this point grown slim says the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Following his arraignment, the owner of the collapsed multi-floor building, Mohammed Sohel Rana, left the courtroom in Dhaka yesterday on his way to jail after receiving charges surrounding corruption with negligence, illegal construction and forcing workers to work under duress. To protect him from an intensifying protesting crowd Sohel Rana wore a police riot helmet and a bulletproof vest as he left the court and walked to a vehicle on his way to jail under police escort. He is one of 8 other people connected to the daily operations of the Rana garment factory who were arrested after the dramatic collapse of the building took place.
Ignoring earlier warnings by inspectors that the illegal building housing thousands of garment workers was unsafe, critical cracks in the structure were discovered and reported by inspectors. But no direct action nor response followup ever happened.
Human rights advocates call the act an industry-wide endangerment and abuse of workers, as well as a government oversight.
“Reforms should include a drastic overhaul of the government’s system of labor inspections and an end to government efforts to thwart the right of workers to unionize,” said Human Rights Watch.
In an Bangladesh industry that has brought in almost 9 Billion dollars, today’s average pay for a women garment worker is $38 (USD) per month. Long hours, that can include unsafe 24 hour work cycles, along with few breaks and other work allowances have been found.
“All the factory buildings visited except one are over-crowded, congested and poorly ventilated. The floor space per worker is small and stairways are narrow. In one factory, bundles of cloth and cartons were found on the staircases,” outlined Dhaka University associate professor and researcher Momtaz Jahan. “The workers work under hundreds of powerful electric bulbs for the whole time of their work. It was observed that, the sound of the operation of 100-200 sewing machines in the same work floor exposed the workers to high noise that exceeded tolerable level.”
Other sharp criticism of officials at top levels in the Bangladesh government include their refusal to allow an international rescue country teams to go in and assist immediately when the collapse occurred as United Nations sponsored INSARAG -International Search and Rescue Advisory Group was turned away.
In an area especially prone to earthquakes it is thought that government officials, as well as building owners, have looked the other way on enforcing building codes for a long time that might otherwise have saved lives. In 2012 only 18 government inspectors had been issued to work to inspect approximately 100,000 factory buildings in Dhaka outlines Human Rights Watch.
“This company [Rana Plaza Factory] has to take action immediately to support the families of the people who were killed and injured,” said London based advocates War on Want Campaign and Policy Director Ruth Tanner, who was in Dhaka on the scene.
As giant retailers juggle a history of buying from Bangladesh companies like U.K. based clothing distributor Primark, along with The Gap, Walmart and subsidiaries under The Gap like Banana Republic and Old Navy, no corporations to date have been implicated with any direct connection to the Rana Plaza Factory operations.
Canada based child clothing distributors Loblaw as well as Primark have recently made statements promising that families of the catastrophe will be receiving financial assistance through their corporate channels, especially children who have become orphans.
Because of an increasing rate of garment worker deaths affecting hundreds of women as well as men, the corporate clothing push is now on for greater managed transparency and integrity with partnerships for Bangladeshi manufacturing practices and conditions.
But management efforts against corruption in Bangladesh have a long way to go say global advocates for women garment workers.
In a recent public release The Gap said it did not have any connection to the Rana Plaza operations. Last month the corporation pledged 33 Million to improve safety with inspectors to its facilities by hiring independent contractors working in Bangladesh. Walmart is doing the same with 1.8 Million that is now going for factory safety management.
“Given the long record of worker deaths in factories, this tragedy was sadly predictable,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch recently. “The government, local factory owners, and the international garment industry pay workers among the world’s lowest wages, but didn’t have the decency to ensure safe conditions for the people who put clothes on the backs of people all over the world,” he continued.
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Readers: We all purchase many things – Can we try to buy with a conscious? Thoughts? What are you “just noticing?” Blog me.
Irene: Yes, you are so correct. I was only looking at the positive side but of course it does go both ways, and unfortunately you gave two great examples of how an organized minority can manipulate the unorganized majority. Thanks for pointing those out.
Naji: If only love could bring peace, but we know better don’t we.
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Peace & Love…
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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