Exactly a decade ago, on April 24, the world was struck by the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh.
The unexpected event led to 1,134 deaths and 2,000 people being injured.
Aside from its emotional effects, the disaster had a financial impact on the rest of the globe, too, with a number of Western clothing brands being affected, highlighting the human price we pay for cheap clothing.
What was the Rana Plaza disaster?
On April 24, 2013, the collapse of a factory building known as the Rana Plaza, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, left thousands either dead or injured.
The eight-storey building was home to several garment factories that produced clothes for international brands like Primark, Bonmarche, Benetton, and Loblaw.
The event marked the deadliest disaster in the garment industry’s history and revealed the poor working conditions Bangladeshi staff had to endure as they tried to meet fast-fashion Western brands’ demand for low-cost clothes production.
At the time, Primark had pledged to pay long-term compensation to the 550 people in its supply chain who had worked there and attacked its rivals for not doing more to support the survivors.
In a statement, the brand said: “Primark is calling on other brands involved in the Rana Plaza disaster to make a contribution by paying short-term aid to some 3,000 workers (or their dependants) who made clothes for their labels.
“To date, these workers have been supported by Primark, even though the workers involved did not make clothing for the company but for other brands.”
After the disaster, it was found that the plaza was constructed in a filled-in pond, using substandard materials, plus extra floors beyond its authorised design were added.
In 2016, 38 people were charged with murder over the tragedy, including the factory owners and the government officials who failed to address the dangerous building.
To this day, Rana Plaza’s owner Sohel Rana remains in custody as his trial continues. In the meantime, he has been convicted of separate corruption charges.
Following the collapse, the Bangladeshi government took action against similar structures, shutting down nearly 20 garment factories. However, people across the globe remain uncertain that the Bangladeshi government is putting people’s lives over the money generated by letting low-cost factories make the world’s clothes in dire circumstances.
Bangladesh is currently the second-largest importer of clothing behind China. The general secretary of the Traders Union Congress in the UK, Paul Nowak, has told The Guardian: “Labour-rights abuses are still rife in Bangladesh and many are still working in unsafe conditions.”
Nowak added: “Relentless union campaigning secured important safety protections for factory workers. But many non-factory workers do not have the same protections.”
