What response given to Bangladesh factory fire killing 34 workers?

At least 34 people have been killed in a blaze in Bangladesh after a boiler malfunctioning at a factory that packages for Nestle and other companies. 10 workers are missing and hundreds are injured. "Waving their hands through the windows of the factory, the workers were crying for help but those who were outside could not go near the building due to huge flames," said Gul Chan, a housewife of a nearby tin-shed house. Rescuing people and extinguishing the fire took over 48 hours and 22 teams of firefighters and army. The fire happened in Tongi, just 12 miles north of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, and is the country’s worst industrial accident since the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse that killed 1,135 garment workers. Tampaco Foils, which owns the five-storey factory, reportedly packages various items for several international brands, including Nestle and British American Tobacco.

Worker Rights Consortium, the International Labor Rights Forum, Clean Clothes Campaign, and the Maquila Solidarity Network responded to the explosion in a statement saying "it is vital for the public to understand that boiler safety is also a key issue in Bangladesh's massive garment sector. There have been numerous boiler explosions at garment factories in recent years (...) 
There has been major progress in improving fire and building safety in garment factories in Bangladesh, especially at the 1,600 factories covered by the binding safety agreement between unions and global apparel brands known as the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. However, none of the safety initiatives in the garment sector, including the Accord, cover the issue of boiler safety. Accord standards concerning fire safety address the spread of a fire caused by a boiler explosion, but they do not address the prevention of such explosions - and, in an explosion the size of the one we have just witnessed at Tampaco Foils, limiting the spread of fire will not be enough to protect life and limb. This is a major issue that the Accord, all other building safety initiatives in Bangladesh, and the Bangladesh government must address."

WSM partners also intervened. Hearing of the fire, GK doctors and paramedics went there with an ambulance and medical supplies, as well as a team from the Government. GK medical team stayed there for three days and treated over a hundred workers and also members of the rescue teams. Most of the treated injuries were burns and were later referred to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital burn unit. On 18th of September, NGWF jointly with other trade unions held a a black-flag mourning-rally and also released a statement with their demands, including compensation to the injured and families of deceased according to ILO standards.

ILO 2016 Global Media Competition on “Breaking Stereotypes on Labour Migration”

ILO launches a global media competition to recognize exemplary media coverage on labour migration. The objective of the competition is to recognize exemplary media coverage on labour migration by encouraging professional journalists to produce written articles or videos/multimedia that while not overlooking the negative aspects (e.g. often a hard reality of exploitation and violation of human and labour rights), also show the positive results of good labour migration governance, and highlight the positive contribution of migrant workers to countries of origin, transit and destination.

© See-ming Lee 2016

This second global media competition “Breaking Stereotypes on Labour Migration” is organized by the International Labour Organization in collaboration with the International Trade Union Confederation, the International Organization of Employers, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Federation of Journalists, Equal Times, Solidarity Center, Human Rights Watch, and Migrant Forum in Asia.

The competition starts on 14 September 2016 and closes on 31 October 2016. Professional journalists are invited to submit one piece of their work to one of the two following categories:

•     written articles (online or print articles)
•     videos/multimedia

The submitted entries should cover labour migration-related issues. Refugees and displaced persons, where they are employed as workers outside their own countries, are considered migrant workers. As such, submissions covering international migrant workers and refugees (participating in labour markets outside their own countries) will be accepted.

For more details, see here.