ILO says most Bangladesh garment factories must improve fire safety ‎

The United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Friday 80 percent of export-oriented readymade ‎garment factories in Bangladesh needed improvement in fire and electrical safety standards ‎despite a government finding most were safe.  A spotlight was thrown on Bangladesh's garment sector, ‎the world's second biggest which supplies many global brands, after the collapse of a factory complex ‎in 2013 in which more than 1,100 people were killed.  Despite a programme of inspections since then, ‎Srinivas B Reddy, Bangladesh country director of the ILO, said most factories needed to improve fire ‎safety and electrical systems before they could be declared safe. "Eighty percent of factories, almost all ‎of them will require fire and electrical remediation," Reddy told Reuters. "There is a need for every ‎factory to come up with a corrective action plan," he said, adding that work to ensure safety in the ‎crucial sector should be completed without delay. ‎

Syed Ahmed, the inspector general of factories, said on Monday more than 80 percent of Bangladesh's ‎garment factories supplying global retailers had been found to be safe, citing improvements made after ‎the 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza factory complex in Dhaka, regarded as one of the world’s worst industrial ‎disasters.‎  (Source: Reuters)