Human Rights & Public Liberties

Human Rights & Public Liberties

Newsletter
Published on: 13 Jan, 2021

Light industry and human rights

Published on: 31 May, 2021
Workers hired by subcontractors to work for large fashion brands/Aljazeera.

Workers hired by subcontractors to work for large fashion brands/Aljazeera.

Major international clothing brands may not extend a Geneva-based binding deal meant to prevent disasters in the Bangladeshi garment sector, similar to the April 2013 Rana Plaza collapse. This agreement expiring Monday was signed following pressure from the human and labor rights group. It ensured periodic inspections to verify the electrical installations, fire doors, and structural capacity of garment factories. Some fear the expiry of the deal could mean a step back for worker safety. Rana Plaza – a nine-story complex that housed various textile workshops in Dhaka –
collapsing remains one of the worst recorded tragedies in the sector, resulting in the deaths of more than 1000 people. Most of them had left poverty behind in rural areas of the country after being hired by subcontractors to work for large fashion brands.