Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen Fashions fire: interview with Taqbir Huda

Talk to me about the Rana Plaza disaster and the Tazreen Fashions fires in Bangladesh.

I still remember April 24, 2013, when an eight-story building named Rana Plaza collapsed, killing 1,100 workers and injuring 2,600 others. The building housed many garment factories catering to major Western retail brands. I slept comfortably under my duvet, while thousands of workers lay under the rubble, less than an hour from my home. Thousands of people were killed and injured simply because their employers chose to ignore the large structural cracks that appeared in the building and forced workers who feared for their lives to continue producing clothing. The deadlines of Western buyers had to be respected.

The Rana Plaza collapse came exactly five months after the deadly Tazreen fashion factory fire on November 24, 2012, where at least 112 workers died and dozens more were injured while were locked inside the factory. One survivor told me: “The only way to escape the fire was to jump out of the windows on the upper floors. Look how my nails stopped growing back after having to use them to claw out the window. They told me of other lifelong injuries they suffered from the fall, while many of their relatives and colleagues burned to death before they could escape. Many members of the same family worked together inside the factory.

These two acts of corporate negligence and impunity exposed the human cost of unregulated corporate greed and reinforced the need for international standards on business and human rights. I knew then, as I know how, that we had to change this status quo.

The incidents are widely considered disasters or unfortunate tragedies – do you agree? Have there been any responsibilities since?

As a Bangladeshi and labor rights activist, it bothers me greatly when people talk about Rana Plaza and Tazreen as unfortunate tragedies, because it obscures the companies' inability to ensure safe working conditions. We must view them through the lens of corporate impunity. The lack of accountability after both atrocities highlighted the disregard for workers' lives, not only from the factories but also from the high-end brands they died making clothes for. It was even more infuriating to see Canadian and American courts quickly reject compensation claims filed against these brands that sourced clothing from Rana Plaza factories, on narrow technical grounds.

On the other hand, a group of local NGOs led by the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust had filed compensation claims for Rana Plaza and Tazreen in the Supreme Court. These cases are still ongoing even ten years after they were filed. Earlier this year, I was relieved to see that a court date was near for the Rana Plaza case and worked closely with the legal team to present legal arguments to the court. However, the matter was adjourned again.

Are there any stories in particular that have stuck with you?

I often think of Sokina, a survivor of Tazreen, who told me her story:

“The doctor told me, 'As long as I'm alive, I'll have to get treatment for my leg,' which I broke when I jumped from the fourth floor. The relief payment I received from the brand donation fund has long since disappeared, while we have still not received any compensation from the employer. My son is studying in fifth grade and I can't even afford to buy the books he needs for school. I have to rely on my elderly mother's income. I had moved to Dhaka to find work and become financially solvent and now I am forever destitute.

It was heartbreaking for me to watch her break down as she expressed her frustration. I had no words to console her. Sokina and other Tazreen survivors still call me from time to time, hoping that I can offer them some words of hope. But I have nothing to offer.

Has workplace safety for workers in Bangladesh improved since these two atrocities, more than a decade later?

The Bangladesh Accord, a legally binding agreement between brands, unions and factories, has significantly improved workplace safety for more than two million garment factory workers in Bangladesh.

On the other hand, it pains me to see almost daily reports of deaths or injuries in other non-export-oriented sectors in Bangladesh, where workplace safety remains a distant dream. Employers don't need to appease pressure from Western brands to ensure safety. It was heartbreaking to meet young shipyard and construction workers who have had their lives turned upside down after becoming permanently disabled. It was even more heartbreaking to meet the family members of workers killed on the job. Given that the price of a dead worker in Bangladesh is less than £2,000, unregulated profit-maximizing entities have little or no incentive to invest in workplace safety.

Conservative estimates from the Safety and Rights Society recorded 5,608 worker deaths between 2013 and 2023. This excludes the death toll from the Rana Plaza collapse. Therefore, even based on this conservative estimate, at least one worker continues to die every day on average in mostly preventable workplace “accidents” in post-Rana Plaza Bangladesh.

What do you mean when you say the cost of a dead worker in Bangladesh “is less than £2,000”?

Under Bangladesh's labor law, employers are only required to pay BDT 250,000 (GBP 1,860) for workers who are permanently injured in an “occupational accident” at their workplace. For those killed at work, the amount of compensation payable to their dependents is even lower, at BDT 200,000 (GBP 1,500). When I began researching labor rights, I was shocked to see how little value the life of a worker is placed in the very law that was supposed to “guarantee labor rights.”

Despite such an arbitrary limit on the amount of compensation, my analysis of employment court cases has shown me that employers often refuse to pay even a tiny amount. An employment tribunal lawyer explained to me that the strategy is to “wear out workers until they no longer have the energy to pursue the case”. These employers would rather spend more money to prolong the lawsuit than simply pay limited compensation because the worker had the audacity to sue them. Even when compensation is awarded after a lengthy trial, companies rarely comply with the court order, leaving many survivors and/or their families without any compensation.

How to get out of this “culture of impunity”?

Real change can only happen when the real problem is recognized, which is that companies continue to embrace labor exploitation as part of a standard business model.

At Amnesty International, we advocate for corporate responsibility in Bangladesh (including workplace safety for all workers) through detailed research and targeted campaigns, such as those at the United Nations Human Rights Council United. Labor justice was an essential part of the human rights charter we published before the last general elections in Bangladesh. One of our key recommendations to the Bangladesh government is the creation of a national database that records every time a worker is killed or maimed due to working conditions. The repository should provide details of all workplace accidents and deaths in a given year, as well as compensation claims lodged with all employment tribunals with their outcomes. Furthermore, labor law should be amended so that victims receive rights-based compensation in the event of an accident or death at the workplace, which compensates for their losses in full, in line with international standards.

We work closely with partners on the ground fighting for labor rights in Bangladesh, for example by participating in legal research for the Rana Plaza compensation case before the Supreme Court. We have issued a public statement containing a series of recommendations to the Bangladeshi government on respecting labor justice. We recently documented the climate of repression faced by garment workers, amid a state-sanctioned crackdown on those defending workers' rights in Bangladesh.

We will continue to promote accountability and reform so that workers can fully enjoy their human rights.