17 January, 2013Government, employers and unions sign onto a tripartite statement regarding fire safety in Bangladesh and agree to jointly develop a national action plan by the end of February 2013.
Mourning the loss of 112 workers lives, as well as the injuries suffered, during a terrible fire at Tazreen Fashions on 24 November 2012, the agreement, commits government, employers and workers’ organizations to working together to develop, promote and implement collaborative, participatory and transparent mechanisms to ensure fire safety in Bangladesh.
IndustriALL Global Union welcomes this commitment to fire safety and pledges its support to ensure more is done to protect the safety and health of workers in the textile sector in Bangladesh.
Signed on 15 January 2013, the agreement recognizes that occupational safety and health requires the full involvement and recognition of workers and their representatives.
The signed statement, published here, call on the International Labour Organization for technical support and assistance from development agencies, brands, buyers, donor agencies and non-government organizations.
Monika Kemperle, IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary, who previously demanded government action on fire safety, welcomed the agreement and said,
Fire safety in the textile industry must be ensured by government and delivered by employers and tripartite approach, involving unions, is the only way o ensure that the disaster that claimed more than 100 lives in November last year does not occur again.