Bangladesh says 80 per cent of formal factories are safe
More than 80 percent of
Bangladesh's garment factories supplying global retailers have
been found to be safe, according to the government.
Syed Ahmed, the inspector general of factories, said 1,475
garment factories had been assessed as part of a government
initiative supported by the International Labour Organization,
Canada, the Netherlands and United Kingdom.
Some 81 percent were found to adhere to building codes, as
well as fire and electrical safety standards, he said.
Among the other factories, the government has ordered 37 to
be closed for failing to address safety issues on their premises
and another 209 have been warned they would be closed if they
didn't take remedial measures immediately.
The rest await further assessment and possible closure.
Bangladesh's garment export industry, the world's second
biggest, has been in the spotlight since the collapse of Rana
Plaza in a Dhaka suburb in 2013 in which more than 1,100 people
were killed, most of them poor seamstresses.
The accident prompted a review of safety standards in the
factories, with many handed lists of structural, electrical and
fire safety fixes and upgrades costing hundreds of millions of
dollars.
The garment industry is the lifeline of Bangladesh's
economy, earning $25 billion in exports each year and employing
4 million workers, mainly women.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3339578/Crammed-squalid-factories-produce-clothes-West-just-20p-day-children-forced-work-horrific-unregulated-workshops-Bangladesh.html#ixzz3t32kNaPZ
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