Rana Plaza - Marking the thirteenth anniversary

Dear friends,

Today we join with our Bangladeshi and international allies in commemorating the thirteenth anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy, when more than 1,138 workers were killed and over 2,000 seriously injured after a multi-story building that housed five garment factories collapsed.

The tragedy ushered in a precedent-setting legally-binding agreement to remedy the grave health and safety risks that had gone unaddressed in garment factories in Bangladesh for far too long, despite prior disasters. MSN is one of three active witness signatories to that agreement, and to the International Health and Safety Accord that now includes country programs in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Thirteen years later, the International Accord’s Bangladesh program is up for renewal, but there is still much more work to be done.

The coverage of the Accord’s health and safety program should be expanded to include workers in other steps in the production process and to protect workers from other hazards like heat stress, alarmingly on the rise due to climate change.

Along with our international labour allies, MSN will continue to support Bangladeshi workers and their unions in calling for respect for their rights, including safe workplaces and remedy for health and safety violations, but also a living wage, the right to organize and bargain collectively, and a fair and effective labour justice system.

Lynda Yanz, and the MSN team