Tragedies in the Garment Industry in Bangladesh

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The world set the spotlight on Bangladesh and strongly questioned the integrity of the garment industry after one of the country’s most shocking tragedies on April 24. The Rana Plaza Collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh killed 1,129 locals and left over 2000 injured. The garment industry is one of the largest successful industries around the world. As this industry copes with the demands of the West, it receives several implications and many negative comments from the public. Although, who are to blame for all the tragedies that has taken place in this industry. Opponents of the garment industry argue that factory owners do not ensure health and safety regulations in these factories. Most of the garment factories are not built suitably, and workers are forced to work in harsh conditions. However, some writers argue that workers seem to prefer working in a factory over working in their previous jobs on the farm or construction sites where they would work in the sun for 14 hours a day. Low levels of work safety pose a massive problem. Between 2000 and 2013, more than 1,500 lives perished in garment industrial disasters caused by fire, building collapses or stampedes. Fire exits must be available and basic training should be obliged. The current average wage rate in the sector is one of the lowest in the world. Cheap labour is abundant, some of them working at a wage rate of $0.20 an hour. Workers are paid unbelievably low wages, and are forced to work long hours, manufacturing clothes to fulfill customer demands. As the demand increases, so must the production. The factory owners pay less as they need to cut costs to be able to make profit. However, there are other ways to cut costs such as not having too much stock or buying on cre... ... middle of paper ... ...se factories invite job opportunities to the poor and increase the employment levels in developed countries. Also many sweatshops do offer benefits to workers, such as free meals and training. This provides the basic needs of the workers. Moreover, I feel that these factories are an excellent way to provide locals a job opportunity and help developing countries progress. Generally, working conditions aren’t as harsh as people think it to be. For many locals, its better than working in their older jobs, so this creates job satisfaction. However, the factories could improve on their health and safety regulations by enforcing norms, building enhanced machinery and sustaining maintenance. Cost may be expensive for factory owners to provide, so government should impose a law for the big companies such as ‘Gap’ to fund for health and safety regulations in their factory.

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