End Sweatshop Death Traps in Bangladesh
Channel: International Labor Rights Forum
Date: 2013-04-07

Script by International Labor Rights Forum and Clean Clothes Campaign
Edited by The Rainbow Collective, http://www.rainbowcollective.co.uk
Camera: Hannan Majid, Laura Gutierrez, Clean Clothes Campaign, Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers' Federation, and National Garment Workers' Federation
Sound/Music: Paul Crocker (a.k.a. dustmotes), "Conformist."

With over 4 million garment workers, Bangladesh is the world's second largest exporter of apparel and a supplier to the most famous clothing brands. And yet workers' wages of US$0.21, or €0.16, an hour are barely enough to put sufficient food on the table for one worker, much less for a family. 

Much of the sewing work takes place in unsafe multistory buildings. Workers may see the signals of extremely unsafe conditions, like cracks in the wall, missing fire exits, barred windows, locked doors, and flammable material lying around. But all too often their warnings go unheeded as factories and global brands focus on profit-making over worker safety. That's why workers in Bangladesh are forming unions and linking up with workers' rights groups globally to demand improvements from the brands whose clothing they sew.  

Since 2005, over 700 workers have died due to unsafe buildings and in factory fires in Bangladesh garment factories. With an adequate fire and building safety program, these tragedies and corporate crimes can be prevented. In March of 2012, PVH (owner of Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and other brands) signed an agreement to ensure transparent and independent inspections, to pay fair prices to factories to make possible mandatory building repairs, and to include worker representation in fire safety measures. A few months later, Tchibo, a major German retailer signed up too.  

Now it's time for more brands to join the agreement for it to have a real impact. For more information about this binding fire safety agreement, and to take action, visit http://LaborRights.org/EndDeathTraps.