The Hindu Business Line : Call for better factory conditions on workers' memorial day

AS per the International Labour Organisation, 2.2 million people die from work-related causes every year, which means 60,000 a day and one death every 15 seconds.

Of these deaths, almost 3.5 lakh occur during work accidents and the rest are due to work-related illnesses. Another 1.2 million are injured every year, while 160 million become ill due to unsafe or unhealthy workplaces.

This is the head count presented by Mr Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF), on the occasion of the international workers memorial day on Thursday.

The workplace disasters have, according to Mr Kearney, increased as the pace of globalisation has quickened. With multinational investors continuing to relocate production in search of cheaper labour and more competitive worksites, working hours have increased and safety standards have fallen.

In the textile, garment and footwear industries where the competition for a share in export market is fierce, suffering and pain become the order of the day and the neglect of health and safety is giving the clothing industry the reputation of being `coal mines on the surface,' the ITGLWF General Secretary has said in a statement.

Bangladesh, Mr Kearney says, is known for `notorious garment factory fires.' In the five years prior to the year 2000, 30 fires reported in garment industry there claimed over 250 lives. The latest garment industry accident was the collapse of a nine-storey garment factory in Savar (Bangladesh) ten days ago that caused a huge loss of life. The factory built on a swamp originally had a four-storeyed structure and five floors were added when the company needed to expand to accommodate a huge order from Europe.

He said that in reality, the Savar collapse was no accident but it was akin to murder. Those responsible for these are the owners of the factory who failed to provide a safe working environment, the Government, which failed to uphold safety regulations and the European garment retailers who failed to ensure the safety of factories.

He dubbed the retailers as those who have turned into `merchants of death,' including European majors such as Zara, which is part of Spanish fashion distributor Inditex, Karstadt Quelle of Germany, Carrefour of France and Cotton Group of Belgium. Mr Kearney announced plans to build a labour museum in Italy and sponsor a workplace safety award.

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