The People ­ Thursday
Date: 02.01.2014
Page 42
Article size: 755 cm2
ColumnCM: 167.77
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Bangladesh tragedy defined 2013
Collapse of textile factory, causing more than 1,000 deaths, led to soul­searching by business
owners, government and global brands on workplace safety
By MARTIN WEBBER
AFTER years when the failures of the these female workers who are work­ pose­built factories simply cannot Chinese exchanges would no
longer accept them.
financial derivatives industry domi­ ing in this industry. We are talking cope with demand.
On more conventional markets
nated business headlines, a shock­ about four million workers and they
Many critics say the brands should
ing tragedy in a much older, much are young. They need these jobs be­ do more to check how their prod­ it was a very good year, as growth
picked up in the United States,
more basic industry ­ clothes mak­ cause they need the economic free­ ucts are made,
Bangladesh is a huge clothes ex­ wh i I e em ergency stimulus of cash
ing ­ was the most momentous event dom.
"But we need these jobs with dig­ port machine, but China remained by the US central bank continued.
of 2013.
The Dow rose to a record high,
In April, more than 1,100 people nity ­ our workers need a safe work­ last year the most powerful export­
were killed when the Rana Plaza fac­ ing place, decent wages and a union ing nation overall, maintaining gaining around 25 per rent in
tory in Bangladesh collapsed. The voice," she says.
Aktar says shoppers in rich coun­
workers there had been making
dothes for many big global brands. tries should write to retailers to
It quickly emerged thai lhe build­ persuade them to take part in an ac­
ing had actually been converted cord set up after the disaster, under
from a shopping centre and had which some retailers have made le­
never been designed to cope with gally binding commitments to fund
the weight of heavy machinery, hun­ safety inspections and give workers a
dreds of workers or die extra two sto­ chance to negotiate on working con­
reys later built on top of the original
six stories.
ditions and wages.
Brands who have already signed
growth of over seven per cent, ac­
cording to official figures.
Close attention was paid to
changes at the top of China's niling
Communist Party. The leadership is
generally refreshed every 10 years.
In the past year, the new regime
consolidated its hold on power but
there was little sign of the new lead­
ership allowing any more openness.
Websites of western media groups
It also emerged that big cracks had up include H&H C&A, Zara, Pri­ were censored when they wrote sto­
markandTesro.
ries about corruption allegations.
appeared in the building the day be­
Concern continues that China
An alternative plan to improve
fore the disaster.
Yet workers had entered the build­
will be the next economy to suffer
has been joined by many LIS retail the impact oflhe burstingof a house
conditions, known as the Alliance,
2013. The gains were significant
after 13 years where average
shares prices had effectively stood
still.
Investors still had plenty in
the background to worry about.
American politics frequently was
in stalemate, leading to a partial
temporary government shut­
down. The total US government
debt sold to the public kept rising,
and is now at $12,7 trillion.
The news from Europe changed
little during the year, although
one of the most troubled nations,
Spain did manage to return to
ing anyway, saying they had been chains including Wal­Mart, Target price bubble.
growth, even with unemployment
threatened with a big loss of earn­
Among the pessimists is Anne Ste­
still more than 25 per cent.
ings if they didn't get on with their and Gap.
venson­Yang of J Capital Research in
The first inspections under ihis
Rightly or wrongly, fear about
work.
Beijing.
the stability of batiks and govern­
'Ihe disaster raised difficult ques­ scheme do already appear to have
"The economic path forward is
tions for the building's owners, the led to improved safety in some not really a pleasant one. China has ment debts in western nations
gave way to milder concern.
Bangladesh government, global Bangladesh factories.
insanely over­invested, it's really
Many politicians hope that will
clothing brands and consumers of
But AJrtar argues diis Alliance "is
provide a springboard for more
quite tragic," she says.
cheap clothes in rich countries.
not strong enough".
"I don't think I've been to a single confident consumers and busi­
Everyone agreed it was a scandal
And ­ eight months after the trag­ city in China for the last two years ness in 2014.
that the safety of human beings edy ­ she says no significant changes
that doesn't have groaning empty
could still be treated with such con­
tempt in the 21 st century.
But who was to blame and what
to improve safety have been initiated
by the Bangladesh government or
real estate.
"Tower after tower that is utterly
factory owners.
dark, empty ballparks and museums
should happen next to improve
Global clothing brands have and libraries."
things?
flocked to Bangladesh in recent years
because it has millions of skilled
Ho boycott
Workers' rights groups insisted the
answer was certainly not any sort of
consumer boycott.
Kalpana Aktar of the Bangladesh
Centre for Worker Solidarity in
Dhaka says people should continue
to buy clothes made in Bangladesh.
"These jobs are so important for
workers, willing to work for the low­
est wages in the world.
Bangladesh is estimated to pro­
duce more than five per cent of the
world's garments.
Subcontracting to sub­standard
factories often seems to happen
without the knowledge of the big
brands because Bangladesh's pur­
Little change
Demand from China seems to have
been a major reason why the online
virtual currency, bitcoin, was one of
the top investments of 2013.
Biicoin's value soared from $13
(Shi, 118) in January to more than
$1,000 (ShS6,000), before then
halving in price after reports that
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
The People ­ Thursday
Date: 02.01.2014
Page 42
Article size: 755 cm2
ColumnCM: 167.77
AVE: 211735.55
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
The People ­ Thursday
Date: 02.01.2014
Page 42
Article size: 755 cm2
ColumnCM: 167.77
AVE: 211735.55
HUGE BLOW:
Left: People rush
to the rescue after
the Rana Plaza
clothing factory
in Bangladesh
collapsed and
(below) women
work on garments
at one of the
country's many
textile plants, photo
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya