Remembering Rana Plaza with calls for a “Fashion Revolution”

Workers and unions across the world have been joined by conscious consumers and retailers in remembering the first anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh.

In one of the worst industrial accidents in history, 1,138 workers were killed and thousands more were injured when the eight-storey Rana Plaza factory complex collapsed in the Dhaka suburb of Savar on 24 April 2013.

The clothes made at Rana Plaza were sold to major brands like Benetton, Zara and C&A.

To commemorate the tragedy, hundreds of people congregated at the disaster site to pay their respects to the dead and injured.

And around the world, online and offline actions are taking place to put pressure on international clothing brands to improve working and safety conditions in the garment industry.

Key players in the world of ethical fashion have declared 24 April Fashion Revolution Day. People are being asked to wear their clothes inside out and post pictures on social media using the hastag #insideout to draw attention to where their clothes really come from.

On Oxford Street, one of London’s busiest shopping streets, campaigners from trade unions and civil society held a minute’s silence at 11.38 am (GMT) and formed a human chain to call for increased supply-chain transparency.

 

“No more excuses”

Following the disaster, a US$40 million fund – administered by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) – was set up in order to provide financial and medical support to the victims and their families.

But so far, brands have only paid in $US15 million – less than half the amount needed.

“We urge all the brands that have been working in Bangladesh to contribute to the fund with a considerable sum,” said IndustriALL Global Union’s general secretary, Jyrki Raina.

“They share a collective responsibility for this profoundly unsustainable production model and its hazards.”

Ineke Zeldenrust from the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) described the paltry payouts as “shocking” and said there can be “no more excuses”.

“Brands such as Benetton, Adler Modermarkte, Carrefour and Matalan have so far failed to make any contributions to the Trust Fund, and they must pay up now. The victims have suffered long enough,” she said.

Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation said that while there has been “some significant progress” towards safer workplaces in Bangladesh’s garment industry much more needs to be done.

“Workers still face enormous obstacles and even violence and intimidation when they try to get respect for their basic rights. Many new unions in the garment sector have been registered, but the government is failing in its duty to ensure workers can bargain collectively for decent wages and conditions, and employers are simply refusing to bargain.”

More than 160 brands have signed up to Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, a legally-binding agreement which guarantees 1,500 inspections in Bangladesh’s garment factories by early September 2014.

But key US brands such as Walmart – the world’s largest retailer – have refused to sign the Accord, preferring to pursue voluntary and non-binding agreements.

Speaking about the Accord, UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings said:

“This project is not only about safety, it’s also about getting rid of the poverty wages in Bangladesh.

“Last year, after a long campaign and mobilisation, the Bangladeshi government finally agreed in November to raise the minimum wage from US$38 to US$67 a month. But this is only the first step towards a living wage to which every worker, man and woman, is entitled.”