The 2012 Dhaka fire broke out on November 24, 2012, at the Tazreen Fashion factory in the Ashulia district on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. At least 117 people were confirmed dead in a fire, and more than 200 people were injured, making it the deadliest factory fire in the nation's history. The fire was initially thought to be caused by electrical short circuit, but Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has since suspected that the fire was a burning and sabotage action due to a comparable previous incident. These and other similar events have led to many reforms in workers' rights and security laws in Bangladesh.
Video 2012 Dhaka fire
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When it opened in 2009, the Tazreen Fashion factory employs 1,630 workers and manufactures T-shirts, polo shirts and jackets for various companies and organizations. These include US Marines, Dutch companies C & amp; A, a Walmart American company and a Hong Kong-based company, Li & amp; Fung. The factory is part of the Tuba group which is the main exporter of garments from Bangladesh to the US, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands. Major clients include Walmart, Carrefour, and IKEA.
According to the Tazreen Fashions website, the plant was marked in May 2011 with an "orange" value by Walmart's ethical sources official for "violations and/or conditions considered high risk". The notice said that any plant receiving three "orange" grade assessments within a two-year period will not accept Walmart orders for one year. The orange rating is the company's first received, followed by a yellow "medium" risk assessment in August, relating to the plant where the fire occurred. On November 25, a Walmart spokeswoman said he "has so far been unable to ensure that Tazreen is a supplier to Walmart or if the documents referenced in this article are actually from Walmart"; the company then severed ties with Tazreen, stating that "The Tazreen Factory [in Ashulia] is not permitted to produce merchandise for Walmart. Subcontracted suppliers work to this factory without permission and directly violate our policies." Walmart critics claim that the company knows about unsafe conditions and blocked efforts to fix it. Documents discovered by email indicate that Walmart has subcontracted several orders of clothing production through its Tazreen plant. According to The New York Times, Walmart plays a key role in blocking reforms in order for retailers to pay more for apparel to help Bangladeshi manufacturers improve their safety standards. Walmart's director of ethical sources Sridevi Kalavakolanu affirmed that the company would not agree to pay the higher costs, since improvements in electrical and fire safety would be "very extensive and expensive modifications" and that "it is not financially feasible for brands to make such investments that. "
Maps 2012 Dhaka fire
Fire
The fire, probably caused by a short circuit, starts on the ground floor of a nine-story plant, trapping the workers upstairs. Due to the large number of fabrics and yarns in the factory, the fire could quickly spread to other floors, complicating fire operations. The fire burned for over seventeen hours before the firefighters were able to extinguish it.
Most of the victims were found on the second floor, where at least 69 bodies were recovered. Witnesses reported that many workers could not escape through the narrow exit of the building. Twelve of the dead died from a window to escape from the fire, some of whom died of other injuries after being taken to a local hospital. Several workers who managed to escape to the roof of the building were rescued. Fire extinguisher operations manager Mohammad Mahbub stated that the plant does not have adequate emergency exits that allow to escape from the building, especially since the fire occurred in the basement warehouse and quickly climbed to the higher floors. Of the three staircases, the three lead to the ground floor, making them very dangerous and unusable in case of ground floor fire. This keeps many workers trapped and can not get out of the fire.
A crowd of thousands of relatives and spectators gathered at the scene, causing soldiers to be deployed to maintain order. Many victims can not be identified because of the severity of burns. The left family had no choice but to wait for a DNA test that could take up to six months.
Response
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her surprise at the death toll and called for a comprehensive search and rescue operation. He also expressed his suspicion that the fire was a burning and an act of "sabotage." Interior Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir also alleged that the arsonists were responsible, citing fires at other clothing factories, including one incident in which employees were filmed on CCTV trying to burn dumped cotton. However, the Minister of Home Affairs subsequently ignored the claim. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters 'Association offers a compensation of $ 1,250 for each family of deceased victims, which is approximately two years' worth of average factory worker.
Tazreen Factory owner Delwar Hossain stated that the place was not safe, adding, "This is a big loss for my staff and my factory.This is the first time we ever have a fire in one of my seven plants." fire safety certificates have expired in June 2012. Three inspectors from the plant were arrested on Nov. 28 on charges of criminal negligence. Police accused them of locking the exit door and preventing workers from leaving the building. According to the survivor, Mohammad Ripu, who jumped from the second floor, the plant manager told them, "The fire alarm just broke down. Go back to work."
On November 27, Walmart America ended its relationship with the Tuba company, which Walmart claimed was contracted by the supplier without his knowledge. The company also said it would work with suppliers to improve fire safety. Walmart also said it would donate US $ 1,600,000 to the Institute for Sustainable Communities, which will use the donation to establish the Environment, Health and Safety Academy in Bangladesh. Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, said the donation was too little to make the industry safe, especially since many factories do not even have basic safety features such as fire escape. On May 15, 2013, companies whose clothing was produced at the Tazreen Design Ltd plant. meet in Geneva to discuss compensation payments for fire victims; Walmart and Sears refused to send representatives to the meeting for unknown reasons.
Thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers protest at the scene of the fire, calling for better workplace safety. The protests continued for three days and blocked major highways. Two hundred factories closed their doors during protests to honor the victims. The factory owner wants to protect the equipment inside because the protests have become chaotic with throwing stones and smashing vehicles. In addition, the government declared November 27, 2012 a day of national mourning with the flag of the country flying with a half pole to honor the victims.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association announced plans to issue 850 factories out of its membership due to non-compliance with safety and labor standards. Members of the US House of Representatives also urged the US Trade Representative's office to complete its review of Bangladesh's compliance with the eligibility requirements for the Generalized Preference System.
In December 2013, 11 months after the fire, Bangladeshi police filed a warrant for the arrest of Delwar Hossain, owner and managing director of Tazreen Fashions Ltd. Fourteen months after the fire, Hossain was charged with death for the negligence of the victims, and he was awaiting trial in prison. This is the first time in Bangladesh that a factory owner has been officially charged in response to the deaths of workers. Saydia Gulrukh, an academic who had worked to bring Hossain to court, stated that "international pressure must affect [the case]"; with the international population developing attitudes toward worker rights pushing the case into the global spotlight.
Revised Rule
In November 2013, three safety regulatory groups, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and the National Tripartite Action Plan agreed to consider adopting a new set of unified safety standards for clothing manufacturing plants. The new standard will require improvement of the factory inspector training. The inspection will be conducted by two different inspectors with their experience in each field being a minimum of five years and combining for a minimum total of 20 years. They will also set the exit distance from the exit which ensures that there is a way to escape from the building from several sides and the number of machines on each floor will have a cap that allows easy access to every exit.
As a step to improve factory and worker welfare, more than 24 US companies are initiated by Wal-Mart and Gap Inc. has signed the agreement. This pact requires them to take responsibility for investing in factory inspections and upgrades and personally overseeing the inspection of 600 Bangladeshi clothing factories. More than 100 European brands have agreed to maintain their contracts with Bangladeshi factories and pay part of the increase and maintenance costs for a two-year period while overseeing the examination of about 1,600 garment factories. The National Government of Bangladesh pledged to inspect 1,200 more factories, meaning that more than half of 5,000 Bangladeshi clothing factories will be checked with this new regulation in the near future.
Related events
On May 8, 2013, a fire wiped out another garment factory in Dhaka, killing at least seven people.
On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza, an eight-storey building on the outskirts of the Savar town that houses several clothing manufacturing companies along with banks and several apartments, collapsed killing more than 1,100 workers and injuring 2,000 others. The building was evacuated a few days earlier because of the large cracks seen on one of the outer walls. After the accident, the owner of the building was arrested for not having proper security clearance when building Rana Plaza, and clothing factory manager was arrested for making their employees work in an unsafe environment.
On 3 February 2016 a fire broke out on the 7th floor at the Matrix Sweaters factory in Gazipur at about 7:30 am in the morning killing at least four workers. Because of the early hours, most of the 6,000 workers have not arrived, preventing a much greater death toll.
See also
- 2010 fire Dhaka
- Pakistan garment factory fire 2012
- the collapse of the building collapse in 2013
- 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
References
External links
- Survivor from the Tazreen Fire Plant Bangladesh Urges US Retailers to Stop Worker Safety Blocks. Democracy Now! April 25, 2013.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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