# Bangledesh: Sounds Like 2012 Triangel Shirtwaist Fire



## Annie (Nov 25, 2012)

Terrible:

Bangladesh garment factory fire kills 120 - Yahoo! News



> Bangladesh garment factory fire kills 120
> Reuters  1 hr 46 mins ago
> 
> DHAKA (Reuters) - A fire swept through a garment factory on the outskirts of Bangladesh's capital, killing at least 120 people, the chief of the fire brigade said on Sunday, in the worst accident for the booming industry in recent years.
> ...


----------



## waltky (Nov 26, 2012)

Bangladesh sweatshop fire spurs protest...

*Thousands of Bangladeshis protest after factory fire that killed 112*
_November 26, 2012   Thousands of Bangladeshi workers blocked the streets of a Dhaka suburb Monday, throwing stones at factories and smashing vehicles, as they demanded justice for 112 people killed in a garment-factory fire that highlighted how industry and government have failed to protect workers from unsafe conditions._


> Some 200 factories were closed for the day after the protest erupted in Savar, the industrial zone where Saturday's deadly fire occurred. Protesters blocked a major highway.  The government announced that Tuesday will be a day of national mourning, with the national flag flying at half-mast in honor of the dead.  Investigators suspect that a short circuit caused the fire, said Maj. Mohammad Mahbub, fire department operations director. But he said it was not the fire itself but the lack of safety measures in the eight-story building that made it so deadly.  "Had there been at least one emergency exit through outside the factory, the casualties would have been much lower," Mahbub said. He said firefighters recovered at least 100 bodies from the factory, and 12 more people died at hospitals after jumping from the building to escape the fire.  Local media reported that up to 124 people were killed.
> 
> Mohammad Ripu, a survivor, said Monday that he tried to run out of the building when the fire alarm rang but was stopped.  "Managers told us, `Nothing happened. The fire alarm had just gone out of order. Go back to work,"' Ripu said. "But we quickly understood that there was a fire. As we again ran for the exit point we found it locked from outside, and it was too late."  Ripu said he jumped from a second-floor window and suffered minor injuries.  Mahbub said the fire broke out on the ground floor, which was used as a warehouse, and spread quickly to the upper floors. He said many workers who retreated to the roof were rescued, but dozens of others were trapped; firefighters recovered 69 bodies from the second floor alone.  Many victims were burned beyond recognition. The bodies were laid out in rows at a school nearby. Many of them were handed over to families; unclaimed victims were taken to Dhaka Medical College for identification.
> 
> ...


----------



## editec (Nov 26, 2012)

Annie said:


> Terrible:
> 
> Bangladesh garment factory fire kills 120 - Yahoo! News
> 
> ...


 
They ought to contact the* International Ladies and Garment Workers Union*


----------



## Mad Scientist (Nov 26, 2012)

That's Globalism. That's Free Trade.


----------



## waltky (Nov 26, 2012)

Bangladesh sweatshop fire deadlier than most...

*Factory fire the deadliest of many in Bangladesh*
_Nov 26,`12  -- The fire alarm: Waved off by managers. An exit door: Locked. The fire extinguishers: Not working and apparently "meant just to impress" inspectors and customers._


> That is the picture survivors paint of the garment-factory fire Saturday that killed 112 people who were trapped inside or jumped to their deaths in desperation. For Bangladesh, where such factories commonly ignore safety as they rush to produce for retailers around the world, the tragedy was unusual only in scope: More than 200 people have died in garment-factory fires in the country since 2006.  About 15,000 Bangladeshi workers protested blocks from the gutted fire Monday, demanding justice for the victims and improved safety. Some 200 factories were closed for the day after the protest erupted in Savar, a suburb of Dhaka, the capital.
> 
> Protesters blocked a major highway, and some threw stones at factories and smashed vehicles, but there were no arrests and no clashes with police.  Maj. Mohammad Mahbub, fire department operations director, said investigators suspect that a short circuit caused the fire at the factory, which was making T-shirts and polo shirts.  But the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association urged investigators not to rule out sabotage.  "Local and international conspirators are trying to destroy our garment industry," association President Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin said. He provided no details.
> 
> ...



See also:

*Bangladesh clothing factory fire comes amid preparations to mourn other deaths*
_Mon November 26, 2012 - Firefighters took about four hours to control blaze in Uttara that injured 10 people; National mourning announced for people killed in Ashulia fire, Shahidullah overpass collapse; Government: Apparel factories will be closed Tuesday, prayers will be offered for victims; Police report 110 deaths in the fire at Tazreen Fashion at Ashulia_


> As Bangladesh prepared to mourn the deaths of more than 100 clothing factory workers, firefighters battled a blaze at another apparel factory near Dhaka on Monday.  Police and witnesses said the new fire, at a 10-story clothing factory in the suburb of Uttara, began Monday morning, and firefighters took about four hours to bring it under control.  "Firefighters have brought the flames under control and no one died in the incident," Brigadier Gen. Abu Nayeem Mohammad Shahidullah, director general of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense, told reporters.
> 
> The Bangladesh government, at a Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, announced a period of national mourning Tuesday. The mourning will mark the Saturday deaths of factory workers in Ashulia and overpass collapse victims in Chittagong, Cabinet Secretary M. Musharraf Hossain said.  The government also announced that all apparel factories would be closed Tuesday and special prayers would be offered at mosques, churches and temples.  The government also ordered an investigation of the cause of the fire and the deaths, and it asked two committees to file reports within a week.
> 
> ...


----------



## Katzndogz (Nov 27, 2012)

editec said:


> Annie said:
> 
> 
> > Terrible:
> ...



There isn't an ILGW anymore.  It was taken over the SEIU, curses be upon them.


----------



## waltky (Nov 27, 2012)

Granny says Wal-mart in coverin' it's butt mode...

* Wal-Mart distances itself from Bangladesh factory fire (+video)*
_November 26, 2012 - 112 people died when a garment factory caught fire in Bangladesh on Saturday. The workers had been making clothes for Wal-Mart, though the retail giant said it was unaware of the contract._


> The garment factory in Bangladesh where a weekend fire killed at least 112 people had been making clothes for Wal-Mart without the giant US retailer's knowledge, Wal-Mart said.  Wal-Mart said the Tazreen Fashions Ltd. factory was no longer authorized to produce merchandise for Wal-Mart but that a supplier subcontracted work to it "in direct violation of our policies."  "Today, we have terminated the relationship with that supplier," America's biggest retailer said in its statement Monday. "The fact that this occurred is extremely troubling to us, and we will continue to work across the apparel industry to improve fire safety education and training in Bangladesh."
> 
> The blaze on Saturday was one of the deadliest fires at a garment factory in Bangladesh and highlighted how its garment factories often ignore safety in the rush to supply major retailers in the US and Europe. More than 300 people have died over the past six years in garment factory fires in the South Asian country.  Survivors of the weekend fire said an exit door was locked, fire extinguishers didn't work and apparently were there just to impress inspectors, and that when the fire alarm went off, bosses told workers to return to their sewing machines. Victims were trapped or jumped to their deaths from the eight-story building, which had no emergency exits.
> 
> ...



See also:

*Wal-Mart sacks supplier after factory fire*
_Wed, Nov 28, 2012 - BANGLADESH DISASTER: The interior minister said a preliminary inquiry found a deadly blaze on Saturday was the result of arson, as the nation mourned the deaths_


> Wal-Mart Stores, the world&#8217;s largest retailer, fired a supplier that made apparel at a Bangladesh factory where more than 110 people died in the country&#8217;s deadliest ever blaze at a garment facility.  &#8220;The Tazreen factory was no longer authorized to produce merchandise for Wal-Mart,&#8221; Kevin Gardner, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement. &#8220;A supplier subcontracted work to this factory without authorization and in direct violation of our policies. Today, we have terminated the relationship with that supplier.&#8221;  Gardner declined to name the supplier.  The factory, owned by Tazreen Fashion, had no emergency exits, and many workers were burnt alive, as they got trapped in heavy smoke, said Muhammad Mahboob, a director at the Fire Service and Civil Defense.
> 
> Some workers jumped from the eight-story building to escape the flames, according to Mohammad Sharif, who runs a local grocery store and whose parents-in-law worked at the plant.  At least 124 people were killed in the fire on Saturday, said Habibur Rahman, superintendent of police for Dhaka. Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, estimates the death toll at 113.  Textiles contribute more than 10 percent of Bangladesh&#8217;s GDP and about 80 percent of the nation&#8217;s exports, mainly to the US and the EU, according to the manufacturers&#8217; association.  Bangladesh&#8217;s High Court on Monday opened a probe into the nation&#8217;s worst garment factory fire. After four human rights organizations filed a writ petition, two judges in a ruling asked the government to explain what steps it has taken to implement an earlier High Court directive to ensure the safety of garment workers.
> 
> ...


----------



## waltky (Nov 28, 2012)

Disney, Sears, Sean Combs too...

*Wal-Mart, Disney clothes found in Bangladesh fire*
_Nov 28,`12  -- A hooded Mickey Mouse sweatshirt from Disney. Piles of children's shorts with Wal-Mart's Faded Glory label. Clothes with hip-hop star Sean Combs' ENYCE tag._


> The garment factory in Bangladesh where 112 people were killed in a fire over the weekend was used by a host of major U.S. and European retailers, an Associated Press reporter discovered Wednesday from clothes and account books left behind amid the blackened tables and melted sewing machines at Tazreen Fashions Ltd.  Wal-Mart had been aware of safety problems at the factory and said it had decided well before the blaze to stop doing business with it. But it said a supplier had continued to use Tazreen without authorization.  Sears, likewise, said its merchandise was being produced there without its approval through a vendor, which has since been fired. The Walt Disney Co. said its records indicate that none of its licensees have been permitted to make Disney-brand products at the factory for at least a year.
> 
> Labor activists have long contended that retailers in the West bear a responsibility to make sure the overseas factories that manufacture their products are safe. They seized on the blaze - the deadliest in Bangladesh's nearly 35-year history of exporting clothing - to argue that retailers must insist on more stringent fire standards.  Charles Kernaghan, director of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, said nothing will change unless clothing companies protect workers as vigorously as they protect their brands.  "The labels are legally protected," he said. "But there are no similar laws to protect rights of the worker."
> 
> ...



See also:

*Three arrested over Bangladesh factory fire as protests rage*
_Thu, Nov 29, 2012 - Bangladeshi police fired rubber bullets to disperse thousands of workers who protested for a third day yesterday over the nation&#8217;s worst-ever factory blaze, which prompted the arrest of three plant managers._


> At least 5,000 workers left their factories and joined the protests, throwing stones and streaming through the main streets of the Ashulia industrial area, just outside of Dhaka and home to 500 manufacturing outlets, police said.  &#8220;They were demanding justice for the fire victims and arrest of the [plant] owner,&#8221; police official Faruq Ahmed told reporters, referring to a weekend blaze at the Tazreen garment factory that left 110 people dead and more than 100 injured.  Industrial Police deputy director Moktar Hossain said police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and jets of hot water from a water cannon to break up the crowd.  The online edition of the mass-circulated Daily Star said workers also vandalized factories and torched motorcycles, injuring at least 20 people.
> 
> More than 100 factories at Ashulia, where the Tazreen plant is located, declared an impromptu holiday for the day, fearing the protests could grow into large-scale industrial unrest.  Police arrested an administrative officer, the store in-charge and a security supervisor of the factory, following charges that they told panicked workers they had nothing to worry about when the fire started.  &#8220;All three are mid-level managers of Tazreen. Survivors told us they did not allow the workers to escape the fire, saying it was a routine fire drill,&#8221; Dhaka police chief Habibur Rahman told reporters.  &#8220;There are also allegations that they even padlocked doors,&#8221; he added.
> 
> ...


----------



## ScienceRocks (Nov 28, 2012)

Why don't these nations put in safety standards?


----------



## Katzndogz (Nov 30, 2012)

Matthew said:


> Why don't these nations put in safety standards?



According to the article, there were safety standards that were ignored.   In a corrupt government its easy to bribe someone for a stamp of approval, or just build what you want and worry about violations later.

Not long ago, California decided to retrofit all the freeway overpasses.   The state appointed inspectors to examine the overpasses to determine which ones were most at risk.   One inspector traded favorable inspections for marijuana.  It wasn't discovered for a few years, during which time the retrofit on these overpasses was delayed or sometimes eliminated.   Now, all of the inspections done by this corrupt inspector has to be redone and the retrofit scheduled.   Fortunately we didn't have a major earthquake.   Unfortunately for Bangladesh they did have a fire.  

We have scads of safety standards that are just ignored with an appropriate bribe.


----------



## waltky (Dec 5, 2012)

Granny says, "Dem poor lil' Bangladeshi's - dey's not just poor but now dey also out of work...

*Bangladesh fire victims want old jobs back*
_Tue, Dec 04, 2012 - EARNING A LIVING: Garment work can provide a stable income for young, uneducated rural women in a country where almost one-third of people live in extreme poverty_


> Major retailers have disavowed the Bangladesh garment factory where 112 workers died in a fire last month, but the survivors of the fire have not. They cannot afford to.  Factories like the one gutted on Nov. 24 are a rare lifeline in a desperately poor country, and now many of the more than 1,200 surviving employees have no work and few prospects.  Even Dipa Akter, who was injured jumping from a third-story window through a hole made by breaking apart an exhaust fan, wants to go back to the Tazreen Fashions Ltd factory.  If the factory owner reopens the factory sometime soon, we will work again here, the 19-year-old said. If its closed for long, we have to think of alternatives.  Akter spent 25 minutes trying to get down the smoke-filled stairs before jumping, which she said was the only option other than being burned.  Now bandages cover her left leg and she cant walk properly.  However, without this job she would either be a housemaid or jobless in her home village, she said.
> 
> Almost one-third of Bangladeshs 150 million people live in extreme poverty. Garment work is one of the few paths to secure a stable income, collect some savings and send money to family  especially for young, uneducated rural women, who are already trained to make clothes at home.  The industry has given women in the conservative nation an accepted opportunity to leave their homes and join the main workforce.  I have a life here, Akter said. I have a timetable to wake up in the morning and I know when I should go to bed.  Akter made about 4,550 takas (US$57) a month sewing pants, shirts and nightgowns. Her husband makes about the same at another factory, but she said it is impossible for them to survive on just his salary.  The landlord is demanding rent and she has bills at a grocery shop.  I am in big trouble because I dont have any savings, Akter said.
> 
> ...


----------



## waltky (Dec 17, 2012)

Owner found negligent in Bangladesh garment factory fire...

*Bangladesh probe: Fire sabotage, owner negligent*
_Dec 17,`12  -- A Bangladesh government committee investigating the garment factory fire that killed 112 people last month said in its findings Monday that the blaze was sabotage, probably by someone who worked there._


> But the panel said that no matter who set the fire, the owner of the factory also should be punished for the deaths because he neglected worker safety.  "If someone is responsible for such a huge number of deaths, that's him. He has failed to ensure safety," committee head Mainuddin Khandaker said of factory owner Delwar Hossain.  Some government and garment industry officials had alleged soon after the Nov. 24 fire that it was an act of sabotage, though a fire official said casualties would have been greatly reduced if the factory had followed safety rules.
> 
> The factory lacked emergency exits and Hossain has said only three floors of the eight-story building were legally built. Surviving employees said gates had been locked and managers had told them to go back to work after the fire alarm went off.  The four-member committee submitted its report to the government Monday. At least two other investigations are continuing.
> 
> ...


----------



## waltky (Dec 18, 2012)

Now dey sayin' it was saboteurs responsible for Bangladesh clothing factory fire...

*Bangladesh plant fire was sabotage: government panel*
_Wed, Dec 19, 2012 - The fire that killed more than 100 people at a Bangladeshi factory that made clothes for retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc was an act of sabotage, according to the government panel investigating the blaze._


> There was no possibility last months fire at Tazreen Fashion Ltds factory was caused by an electrical short-circuit and witness statements suggest sabotage, panel chief Mainuddin Khandaker said by telephone on Monday, without saying who could have been responsible.  He blamed the factory owner for gross negligence as poor safety standards made it harder for workers to escape.  The Nov. 24 fire, the countrys deadliest at a garment plant, renewed pressure on local companies and international retailers sourcing cheap clothes from Bangladesh to improve labor conditions. More than 700 garment workers have died since 2005 in Bangladesh, according to the International Labor Rights Forum, a Washington-based advocacy group.
> 
> The government panels investigation believes the incident was the result of sabotage because it did not find any electricity connection or appliance in the area where the fire originated, Khandaker said.  The fire originated from the warehouse on the ground floor, he said.  The findings of the report are conflicting, Garment Workers Unity Forum union president Mushrefa Mishu said in a phone interview yesterday.  I dont think it was sabotage, Mishu said. Calling it an act of sabotage, the government is indicating some workers are responsible for the fire, so that they can be harassed.  The factory had no emergency exits, and many workers were burned alive, as they got trapped in heavy smoke, Muhammad Mahboob, a director at the Fire Service and Civil Defense said after the fire.
> 
> ...


----------



## waltky (Jan 24, 2013)

The check's in the mail...

*Bangladesh fire victims' families wait for money*
_24 Jan.`13   When fire ravaged a Bangladeshi garment factory, killing 112 workers, dozens of their families did not even have a body to bury because their loved ones' remains were burned beyond recognition. Two months later, the same families have yet to receive any of the compensation they were promised  not even their relatives' last paychecks._


> An official with the country's powerful garment industry said DNA tests must first be conducted to confirm the losses of more than 50 families. He would not say why the families have not even received the wages their relatives had earned before the Nov. 24 blaze.  Many of the families desperately need money after losing their primary breadwinners in the fire at the Tazreen factory, which made clothes for Wal-Mart, Disney and other Western brands.  The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, a foreign supplier and the government promised to give the families of the dead 600,000 takas ($7,500) each, finance the education of the dead workers' children and pay the November salaries of both dead and surviving factory workers.  "I have got nothing. Nobody is saying anything," said Ansar, who uses one name and who lost his wife and daughter in the fire.
> 
> The 55-year-old is too ill to work himself. His 16-year-old son, who also worked at Tazreen, managed to escape but was traumatized by leaving his mother and sister behind "amid the darkness and ash," Ansar said at his home near the gutted factory.  The boy got a job at another factory but was unable to work because of his trauma.  "My son cannot sleep," Ansar said, sobbing. "He wakes up at midnight and then cries for a long time. The same thing happens to him every night."  Ansar has been unable to pay his rent for two months and fears that if he gets evicted and is forced to return to his home village in the impoverished north, he may never be compensated.
> 
> ...


----------



## Saigon (Jan 25, 2013)

Is Bangaldesh in Africa?


----------



## waltky (Jan 28, 2013)

Another fabric factory fire in Bangladesh...

*Report: Investigation Ordered into Latest Bangladesh Factory Fire*
_ January 27, 2013 - An official in Bangladesh says the government has ordered an investigation into allegations that the only emergency exit was locked at a garment factory where a fire on Saturday killed seven female workers._


> The Associated Press cites a government official, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, as saying an inquiry has been ordered into the cause of the blaze and the contention about the exit.  Dhaka police inspector Shamsul Hoque told the AP Sunday that Altaf Hossain, father of a garment worker killed in the fire, has filed a case against three directors of the factory, accusing them of negligence.
> 
> Saturday's fire at the Smart Export Garment Ltd. factory occurred just two months after a blaze killed 112 workers in another factory near the capital, raising questions about safety in Bangladesh&#8217;s garment industry, which exports clothes to leading Western retailers. The gates of that factory were locked.  Also Sunday, three international labor rights groups called for global clothing retailers to ensure improved safety measures for garment workers in Bangladesh.
> 
> ...



See also:

*Bangladesh probing if factory's 1 exit was locked*
_Jan 27,`13 -- Bangladesh's government is investigating allegations that the sole emergency exit was locked at a garment factory where a fire killed seven women._


> The fire Saturday at the Smart Export Garment Ltd. factory occurred just two months after a blaze killed 112 workers in another factory, raising questions about safety in Bangladesh's garment industry, which exports clothes to leading Western retailers. The gates of that factory were locked.  Government official Jahangir Kabir Nanak said Sunday an investigation has been ordered into the cause of Saturday's fire and allegations that the emergency exit was locked.  Altaf Hossain, father of a garment worker killed in the latest fire, has filed a police case against three directors of the factory, accusing them of negligence involving the fire, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Sub-inspector Shamsul Hoque told The Associated Press. He said police had begun an investigation.
> 
> Doctors said most of the victims died from asphyxiation.  "When I tried to escape through the emergency exit I found the gate locked," factory worker Raushan Ara was quoted as saying by Dhaka's Prothom Alo newspaper.  The newspaper said at least 50 people were injured in a stampede triggered by the fire, and six of them were hospitalized.  Some of the injured jumped out of the windows of the two-story factory, survivors said.  Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Monzurul Kabir said the bodies of seven women were recovered from the top floor of the factory. He said the factory was making pants and shirts, but could not provide further details.
> 
> ...



Saigon wrote:  *Is Bangaldesh in Africa?*

Nah, just goes to show how geographically illiterate some Americans are...

... it's in Australia.


----------

