4-05-06, 8:29 am

Note: Several hundred garment workers died, or were severely burned and injured, after a fire broke out at the KTS Garment Company on February 25 in the port city of Chittagong, Bangladesh.

At least 1,700 workers, mostly young girls, were working inside the factory when the fire broke out. As usual, the only stairs and exits in the building were locked, and workers frantically tried to escape by breaking down a wall and jumping from the 9-story building. Although government sources said that 52 bodies were recovered, workers who managed to escape from the deathtrap alive say that more than 700 workers are missing. Many complain that dead bodies were removed in covered trucks in the darkness of night. Severely burnt workers were admitted to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital where there is no burn unit. On the very next day, another 5-story former garment factory building collapsed, killing hundreds of workers working in and outside the building. The building previously housed a garment factory and was being refurbished as a hospital.

Veteran trade union leader, Manzurul Ahsan Khan, invited all the garment worker unions, irrespective of their political orientation, to a meeting to lay out a common program for a movement to stop the killing of garment workers by irresponsible garment company owners and government officials due to non-compliance with the laws and regulations pertaining to safety in the work place. The meeting was held on February 26th and was attended by 26 garment worker leaders from more than 16 organizations.

The meeting condemned the deaths of the garment workers at the KTS factory and those due to the collapse of the Phoenix Building, as well as the recent deaths of thousands of workers in similar building collapses and fires, all caused by a total lack of enforcement of workplace safety. The meeting discussed the need for forging a united movement of garment workers. It strongly condemned the criminal negligence of the garment owners, the Ministry of Industry, the Department of Labor, and the Inspectorate of Factories and Shops, who have all failed to ensure the safety of the garment workers, despite the steadily rising death toll due to such incidents.

The meeting called upon the government to declare a period of national mourning for the deaths of the innocent garment workers. It also demanded adequate monetary compensation for the families of the dead and free treatment and compensation for the injured. It called for publication of a full list of the dead and injured and adequate retraining for workers who have lost their jobs due to such incidents.

The meeting also called for the resignation of the Minister of Industry and for the exemplary punishment of owners, managerial staff, government officials, and those officials of the Inspectorate of Factories responsible for compliance with job safety regulations, labor laws, and the ILO (International Labor Organization) Convention. The meeting strongly denounced the government's shocking indifference to the report that 1500 garment factories are hazardous and need to be immediately evacuated. It called for the upgrading and shifting of such factories to new locations, along with the uninterrupted payment of wages, continuation of job benefits, and full implementation of workplace safety. It stated that an official government white paper must be issued providing details of the disaster, with a full accounting of those killed and injured, along with an examination of the total lack of enforcement on the part of those responsible for safety, as well as the steps that must be taken to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

The meeting deplored the campaign mounted in certain quarters, which suggests that a conspiracy has been hatched to destroy the Bangladesh garment industry by calling attention to the lack of safety noncompliance, and thus discouraging potential buyers. The leaders of the garment workers stated that the responsibility for the tragic deaths lies with the greed of garment factory owners who, in connivance with government officials, are bent on making super profits by cutting down on safety measures and reducing even the minimum benefits entitled to workers by law. It called upon all workers and mass organizations, political parties, professionals, intellectuals, and humanitarian organizations, both national and international, to strengthen in every possible way the movement to save the lives and livelihood of the garment workers of Bangladesh.

The meeting ended with a unanimous call for a half-day nationwide strike by Bangladesh’s garment workers on March 2. In response to this call, over 18,000 garment workers struck to protest the death of hundreds of their fellow workers due to lack of safety in the workplace. Ninety percent of the garment workers in Bangladesh walked out of their factories and organized huge demonstrations across the country in response to the united call of 16 garment workers’ organizations. Various trade union and agricultural workers’ organizations, as well the national students’ union, came out in full support of the demands of the garment workers, while the Communist Party of Bangladesh issued its own call for a half-day `hartal' or general strike on March 2 in a show of solidarity.

The meeting was chaired by the veteran trade unionist, Shahidullah Chowdhury. The following leaders called for the strike: Amirul Haq. Amin, Gen.Secy. Nationalist Garment workers Federation. Ruhul Amin. Gen. Secy: Bangladesh Garment Shramik (workers) Trade Union Kendra. Sirajul Islam Roni: President, National Garment Sramik Karmachari League Selim Reza: President, National Garment Sramik League Salahuddin Sapan: President, Jatiotabadi Garment Sramik Federation Towhidur Rahaman: President, Bangladesh Poshak Shilpa Sramik Federation Delwar Hosen Khan: President, Bangladesh Jonoshadhin Garment Sramik Federation Minuddin Mondol: Gen. Secy, Bangladesh Songjukta Garment Sramik Federation Alamgir Roni: President, Bangladesh Gonotantrik Garment Sramik Karmachari Federation Haji Mohammad Ali: President, Bangla Garment Sramik Federation M. Delwar Hosen: President, Jatyo Garment Sramik Karmachari Federation Shmima Nasrin: President, Shadhin Bangla Garment Sramik Karmachai Federation Shafiuddin Molla: President, Jatyo Garment & Darji Sramik Karmachai Federation Sardar Khorshed Alam: President, Jatyo Garment Shramik Jote Abu Taher: President, Jatyo Garment Darji Sramik Karmachai Kendro Rehana Sultana Anju: President, Jatyo Garment Sramik Jote

From the Monthly Bulletin of the Communist Party of Bangladesh