Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DHAKA1528
2006-03-20 10:08:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Dhaka
Cable title:  

FACTORIES COLLAPSE AND BURN; EXPERTS HOLD MEETING;

Tags:  ELAB ETRD PGOV BG 
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VZCZCXRO4939
PP RUEHCI
DE RUEHKA #1528 0791008
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201008Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6259
INFO RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 7363
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1041
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 8452
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1411
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 8971
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0237
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1027
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL CALCUTTA
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 0063
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
UNCLAS DHAKA 001528 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

CORRECTED COPY -- PARAS RENUMBERED

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ETRD PGOV BG
SUBJECT: FACTORIES COLLAPSE AND BURN; EXPERTS HOLD MEETING;
ACTUAL DEAD POSSIBLY HIGHER


UNCLAS DHAKA 001528

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

CORRECTED COPY -- PARAS RENUMBERED

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ETRD PGOV BG
SUBJECT: FACTORIES COLLAPSE AND BURN; EXPERTS HOLD MEETING;
ACTUAL DEAD POSSIBLY HIGHER



1. (SBU) On March 14, in the wake of the Phoenix factory
collapse in Dhaka which killed 21 and injured 50, and of the
KTS factory fire in Chittagong which killed at least 61 and
injured over a 100, and the Radiant Sweater company fire
which killed 3 and injured 22, the Center for Policy Dialogue
(CPD) think tank sponsored a public forum to discuss
"Workplace Safety for the Industrial Worker: Can We Do
Anything?" Laboff attended to hear the views of
representatives from civil society, factory owners, labor,
and government.


2. (SBU) CPD Executive Director Deb Bhattacharya began by
telling the over 100 attendees that changing the present
situation does not mean a "big investment" but a change in
government and factory owners' "attitudes." He charged that
political figures only show care for workers for the TV
cameras, that injured workers and the families of dead
workers remain uncompensated, that the Ministry of Labor is
unresponsive, that no organization is keeping reliable
statistics, codes or conduct are not universally being used,
and trade unions are not working hard enough for the workers.



3. (SBU) Various representatives defended their sectors:
trade unionists said that laws were not sufficient, that
factories rarely have sufficient safety equipment. A
representative from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and
Exporters Association (BGMEA) defended his members' factories
as safe, rhetorically asking, "Why would we want to lose our
investment?" Deputy Director of Labor Kabir Ahmed Choudhury
complained that their inspection unit needs more employees.


4. (SBU) Newspaper reports commenting on the three factory
disasters put the total deaths from these disasters at over
140, with the injured at over 500. Many people believe the
actual totals are much higher. The country representative
for American Center International Labor Solidarity (ACILS)
told laboff that in the Phoenix factory collapse, the police
blocked access to people, citing safety concerns, but he
believed they blocked access to conceal the actual number of
dead being retrieved from the site. Bangladeshis argued that
the English language press never showed front page photos of
the dead, while the Bangla language dailies prominently
displayed several bloodied bodies recovered from the disaster
sites.


5. (U) Note: We will report septel workers' accounts of the
KTS Textile factory fire.
CHAMMAS

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