Once again, it is
the sad anniversary of the collapse of the Rana Plaza structure in Savar
near Dhaka, Bangladesh, a building that housed various garment factories,
the constant humming of their sewing machines, operating on two illegally
constructed top floors, that made the building collapse on 24th April 2013,
burying 1,132 workers and injuring thousands more. The real tragedy is how
easily this loss of life could have been avoided had the workers been
allowed to evacuate – cracks in the building could clearly be seen more
than a day before.
But no, it is these cracks in a system of greed that can be attributed
to each one of us. Each one who ever bought a piece of clothing way under
market value – which would be most of us given the ridiculously low apparel
prices that have actually fallen over the decades. Each one of us who ever
had a hand in manufacturing such a piece of clothing, be it ordering it,
buying it, designing it, providing the materials for it or advertising it.
Each one who knew of the real cost of cheap clothing and didn’t do anything
about it.
Because if we had noticed something, said something, done something, the
Rana Plaza factory owners, pressured by low prices and slim margins, would
not have driven their workers back into a building that was clearly unsafe.
Why did the workers simply not refuse to go back to work? Why did they not
involve their union representatives? Because there were none. And because
if you live on such thin margins, barely feeding your children and making
ends meet, then risking your own life is preferable to risking a measly
paycheck.
Has Rana Plaza changed anything?
What has happened to Rana Plaza now, the site of the disaster? If we
would walk past it, we would not know it was there because there is no
plaque commemorating the tragic event. It is simply an empty lot. Those who
want to jump the wall and look around can still find labels of those brands
ordering their garments here lying around – Benetton, Bonmarché, Prada,
Gucci, Versace, Moncler, the Children’s Place,El Corte Inglés, Joe Fresh,
Mango, Matalan, Primark and Walmart.
Now, only a makeshift memorial of dried flowers, likely left by the
families of the victims, reminds one of the 1,132 lives lost. And though
sad, it is understandable why Bangladesh officially seems to care so little
to remember this event because the show must go on. For a country whose
exports depend 80 percent on garments and shoes, building an image of a
safe place to source apparel is crucial. And garment factories brimming
with work is good for their workers too, after all.
Do garment workers have the support they need in the wake of
Covid-19?
So seven years on, it is all about business once again, when the country
and the world find itself in a crisis even worse than Rana Plaza. The
demand for clothing has plummeted as people across the world are staying
home and reassessing what they spend their hard earned money on. As a
consequence, brands and retailers are sitting on old stock, cancelling or
postponing orders and refusing to pay for in-production orders and
materials already purchased. This means factories have to cut down
production or shut their doors temporarily, laying off workers in the
process, most of them without severance packages or anything to tide them
over. With no financial resources or a social net to fall back on,
suddenly they are worse off than after Rana Plaza, finding themselves not
only out of work but out of a home and food too.
This is all the more ironic because seven years ago after Rana Plaza
‘happened,’ we were promised this would never happen again by an industry
that came up with the Bangladesh Accord, the Alliance and other agencies to improve fire,
building and worker safety in Bangladesh. What these agencies did not
foresee was how to hold buyers accountable and stick to their contracts.
Garment workers in Bangladesh recently took to the streets and protested in great
numbers despite the lockdown restrictions because once again, their health
and potentially their lives are still worth less than a measly paycheck.
“I see the western world stocking up on food while garment workers are
going hungry. Where are the brands who claimed to be sustainable now? I
will never forget how they’ve treated us during Covid-19. It is like Rana
Plaza all over again”, comments labour activist Kalpona Akter according to
the Dhaka Tribune. She is the founder and executive director of the
Bangladesh Centre for Worker Solidarity, one of the three unions that
currently documents job cuts. “These workers won’t get jobs anywhere else
for the next two to three months. The factories must take them back and the
government needs to ensure this,” she added according to Reuters.
This is why US-based NGO Remake together with Mostafiz Uddin, owner of
Bangladesh-based denim manufacturer and exporter Denim Expert Ltd., and
labour activist Akter has launched the #PayUp initiative, urging
international brands and retailers to honour their commitments and pay for
in-production orders now.
“Unlike Rana Plaza, we don’t have two years to wait for a compensation
fund. Primark turned their backs on us during Rana Plaza and now again
during this pandemic. I am dealing with women, many who are single mothers
who haven’t been paid and are going hungry. If we don’t have urgent relief
I am afraid some will commit suicide”, warns Nazma Akter, founder and
executive director of Awaj Foundation, according to the Dhaka Tribune.
Seven years ago when the Rana Plaza building collapsed, the fashion
industry could have seen the signs of the time and reflected on its
practices and values. While that was undoubtedly done, it was not on a
global scale. As the coronavirus pandemic forces the world now to hit a
reset button, this is a chance for the garment industry too to slow down and finally
rethink and reset its practices and values – invest in lasting,
sustainable, high-quality clothes and do away with throw-away fashion once and for all.
Invest in lasting relationships with suppliers and really get to know who
made our clothes. Be transparent in all our dealings and be better prepared
for the future so that Rana Plaza never has to happen again.
Photo: Zakir Hossain Chowdhury / ANADOLU AGENCY
