{"id":1737,"date":"2014-04-25T10:50:20","date_gmt":"2014-04-25T10:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=1737"},"modified":"2014-04-25T10:50:20","modified_gmt":"2014-04-25T10:50:20","slug":"west-wont-buy-blood-stained-clothes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/west-wont-buy-blood-stained-clothes\/","title":{"rendered":"West won\u2019t buy blood stained clothes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"USA\"<\/a>US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez has said western consumers will not buy clothes that are stained with the blood of Bangladeshi workers.
\nMenendez, chairman of the senate foreign relations committee, issued the statement on the anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy. US Senator has urged the Bangladesh government and the BGMEA to take immediate steps to end the suppression of fledgling trade unions by readymade garment workers.
\n\u201cIf the BGMEA and the government of Bangladesh do not take immediate and concerted steps to end the suppression of fledgling unions, it is only a matter of time before another large-scale tragedy hits Bangladesh\u2019s garment industry, and the \u2018made in Bangladesh\u2019 brand is tarnished beyond repair,\u201d the senator said.
\nIn the statement, Menendez said, \u201cOne year ago this week, the world\u2019s conscience was shocked by the deaths of over 1,130 Bangladeshi garment workers when Rana Plaza, the building which housed their factories, collapsed on top of them.\u201d
\n\u2018For many, the tragedy was a call to action.\u00a0 The U.S. government has suspended trade benefits for Bangladesh until it takes several concrete steps to improve workers\u2019 rights and safety.\u00a0 The International Labor Organization has initiated its largest-ever safe factories program in Bangladesh and coordinated safety inspections, as well as compensation for the victims of Rana Plaza. International retailers have taken important initial steps to address building and worker safety in Bangladesh\u2019, said Menendez.
\nMenendez said, Yet for others involved in Bangladesh\u2019s garment industry, the past year has been business as usual.\u00a0 Many factory owners in Bangladesh have suppressed the formation of unions in their factories by firing union leaders and, according to reports, some factory managers have been involved in vicious attacks on union organizers.
\n\u2018The industry association for Bangladesh\u2019s garment factory owners, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), continues to represent the old guard of factory owners and has been reluctant to take any action against its members who engage in anti-union activity.\u00a0 The government of Bangladesh, while making progress in the registration of new unions, still lacks the institutional capacity and political will to protect them.\u00a0 This has had a chilling effect on labor organizing in the country. Many workers now fear losing their jobs if they join a union and union organizers rightly fear for their own safety\u2019 senator added.
\nMenendez said, Without the strong voice of an independent factory union, workers have no mechanism to ensure their own safety. They cannot make sure that managers keep fire doors shut and stairwells clear, or that cracks in columns and walls are not simply painted over.<\/p>\n

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