Factory workers demand efforts to safeguard labour rights

Say treaty such as the Bangladesh Accord on Building and Fire Safety drawn
in the aftermath of the plaza disaster should also be formulated in Pakistan

Marking the fourth anniversary of Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh that claimed lives of over 1,100 factory workers, labour support organisations and trade unions in Karachi organised a protest on Sunday in solidarity with the victims .

The protesters, including affectees of the Baldia Town factory fire, demanded of the government to play its due role in ensuring that workers’ rights are safeguarded.

On April 24, 2013, 1,135 workers died while 2,515 others were injured when the eight-storey Rana Plaza - housing five garment factories - collapsed. The accident is counted among one of the worst industrial disasters to have occurred globally.

NTUF

At a rally held from Fawara Chowk to the Karachi Press Club, president of the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), Rafiq Baloch, said that despite having witnessed some serious industrial disasters, neither the employers nor the authorities have appeared to have learnt any lesson. 

"Factory workers are still losing their lives owing to a lack of health and safety measures. The worst example of this criminal neglect is the recent Gadani ship-breaking yard tragedy," he said.

On November 1, last year, over 25 people were burnt to death and over 55 injured when a fuel tank of a ship anchored at the Gadani ship-breaking yard exploded.

Baloch stated that exploitation of labour rights was at its peak in garments factories due to a collusion of employers, international brands, government as well as the social auditing firms. 

“Workers are neither issued job letters nor are they registered with the social security institutions and pension funds,” the NTUF chief said. 

Slamming factory employers and government institutions, Baloch said they were a notorious cult also exploiting International Labour Organization's (ILO) conventions and the GSP Plus status. 

Bragging about having signed the Global Framework Agreement before their customers, Baloch said these leading international brands are a party to this crime.

NTUF’s secretary general, Nasir Mansoor, its Sindh president Gul Rehman, Sindh general secretary Riaz Abbasi, Home Based Women Workers’ Federation’s general secretary Zehra Khan, Ali Enterprises Factory Fire Affectees Association’s senior vice-president Saeeda Khatoon and Khadi United Workers Union's Hameeda Khatoon also spoke at the event.

Among the demands of the protestors were implementing occupational health and safety laws at workplaces without any delay so that incidents like the Rana Plaza and the Baldia factory fire could be averted in future. 

They demanded the government to intervene and chalk out SOPs for garment manufacturers like Bangladesh did post the April 24 tragedy. They also urged the government to pay Baldia factory fire victims their due compensation through the Sindh High Court in lump sum.

Piler

The Piler (Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research) along with the local trade unions leadership and its international campaigning partner Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) marked the fourth anniversary of the incident by outlining a key set of actions for the government, brands and employers on ensuring workplace safety, securing workers rights and transparency.

“These actions are needed to deliver the ‘fundamental changes’ promised in the aftermath of the disaster. When the building, which housed five separate garment factories collapsed, it was found that the property had not been properly inspected, its workers did not have a labour union and there was no public record of which brands had been buying from the factories,” read a statement issued by Piler.

“Meaningful and transparent action to safeguard workers’ rights and workplace safety is still needed for those killed and injured in the Rana Plaza collapse. Our thoughts and sympathies are with all those still grieving for their loved ones, and those suffering from the physical and psychological scars left by the disaster,” the statement further maintained.

Citing the Ali Enterprises fire in Baldia Town, Piler’s officials statement maintained that there was no significant change in the working conditions of garment workers when it comes to workplace safety, freedom of association and collective bargaining.

“It took four years for Piler and its international campaigning partners to strike a bargain with the German Brand – buying garments from the factory - to reach to an agreement for a long-term compensation for the victims of Ali Enterprise,” the statement added.

Bangladesh set up the legally binding Bangladesh Accord on Building and Fire Safety in the aftermath of the disaster to ensure that proper inspections were carried out and that their findings were acted upon. This led to a significant improvement in the safety of factories in Bangladesh.

However, progress towards ensuring a safer garment industry is being hampered by the failure to address the continued repression of workers’ rights and the unjustified secrecy around places from where clothing brands have their goods produced.

The CCC, the garment industry's largest alliance of labour unions and non-governmental organisations, in its statement on Rana Plaza’s fourth anniversary, developed a series of clear, simple and achievable actions which include an extension of the current Bangladesh Accord beyond its initial five-year validity and the accord’s strengthening.

The CCC also called on brands and retailers to improve transparency of their supply chain, allowing workers and consumers to more closely monitor working conditions. In addition, the statement highlighted the need for a greater action from the European Union to use trade regulation to enforce union rights in Bangladesh and other sourcing countries including Pakistan and to pass regulation requiring brands and retailers to disclose their supply chain.