Rana Plaza three years on: the struggle for justice and safety is not over

24. April 2016

On April 24th 2013 the deadliest tragedy in the history of garment industry happened in Dhaka. Three years later, all of the victims finally have received compensation. But despite public pressure, factories remain blatantly unsafe.

More than 1’100 people died when the eight-storey Rana Plaza building collapsed in Savar near Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, on April 24th 2013. Most of the victims were female garment workers. Where are we, three years on?

Over the past three years the Clean Clothes Campaign has fought side by side with the survivors and the families of those killed to demand and win compensation for their losses. We have also worked with our colleagues in the trade union movement to push for the signing of the Bangladesh Accord; a legally-binding agreement to ensure Bangladesh garment factories are inspected and made safe. Since then we have worked with all the signatories and staff of the Accord to ensure its implementation. Lastly, we have supported our trade union partners in Bangladesh, and their members, who face sometimes brutal retaliation and harassment simply for exercising their right to organise and negotiate for better work.

The new report: Rana Plaza Three Years On: Compensation, Justice and Workers' Safety (summary) provides an overview of the progress made in these areas and the considerable work still to be done before we can call Bangladesh garment industry a safe place to work. Daniela Kistler, Berne Declaration/ Clean Clothes Campaign Switzerland collaborator, summarizes today’s situation in a short video, released on the 3rd anniversary of the disaster.

>>> Report (PDF)