Justice is needed for Bangladesh workers following Rana Plaza disaster, says TUC

1 June 2015

Commenting on the announcement today (Monday) that 42 people in Bangladesh have been charged with murder in connection with the Rana Plaza factory collapse which killed almost 1200 people in 2013, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“It is important that those responsible for the terrible loss of life at Rana Plaza face justice. But thousands of factories in Bangladesh are still unsafe, putting more workers lives at risk.

“Repressive labour laws in Bangladesh prevent workers from being able to call for safer conditions through trade unions. It’s shocking that the widespread violence trade unions face at the hands of factory managers continues to go unpunished. The Bangladesh government must allow full freedom of association and UK companies must use their buying power to demand trade union rights are respected, to ensure that the factories they use in Bangladesh are safe.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The International Trade Union Confederation’s summary of the failures of the Bangladesh labour law to address violations of workers’ rights can be found at: http://www.ituc-csi.org/bangladesh-business-as-usual-as

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk
- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews
 

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Clare Santry  T: 020 7467 1372  M: 07717 531150  E: csantry@tuc.org.uk
Kay Atwal  T: 020 7467 1385  M: 07941 547469  E: katwal@tuc.org.uk