As It Stood: A building collapse in a suburb of Dhaka on April 24 killed more than 1,000 people and shined a spotlight on the deplorable working conditions in the Bangladeshi apparel industry. The failure came just a day after an engineer inspecting cracks told the owner of Rana Plaza it should be closed immediately, according to the New York Times.
The country has seen unprecedented growth in the garment business in recent years—the demand for cheap labor and maximized profits has grown into an $18 billion industry that accounts for more than 80 percent of the country’s exports and 10 percent of its gross domestic product, according to Bloomberg News. As companies scrambled to capitalize on those new opportunities, buildings like Rana Plaza were expanded hastily and without much oversight, creating safety issues.
The incident not only created brought the transgressions of Bangladeshi factory owners, it also created negative press for the global companies making profits, including those in Europe, Canada, and the United States
Falling Down (Again): Four months later, those injured and the families of those killed are still waiting for compensation promised by the government and factory owners, according to a New York Times editorial last week. Workers were supposed to get $1,250 and up to $19,000 in savings certificates, according to the Times. The families of those killed were slated to receive $1,250 each.
Many of those payments hadn’t been made earlier this month. About 700 of the dead workers' families hadn’t received any payout, according to the Daily Star. Only 777 of the many injured workers had been paid, but none fully, according to the Times, and there was no proof Bangladesh’s garment manufacturers’ group had raised the money it had vowed either.
Crawling Toward Restitution: Of the global retailers who get their products from Bangledesh only one—Britain’s Primark—has offered any compensation to the victims of the collapse. Still there’s a glimmer of hope that international companies will work to improve the situation.
A meeting to determine compensation for the victims is scheduled for September, according to Bloomberg News. Additionally, more than 80 companies have signed a building safety pact put forward by labor groups. Still, little has been done that is legally enforceable and time will tell if the initiative to establish safety standards and inspections is more than just saving face, according to the Times.