AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE 56:1113–1115 (2013)

Commentary

Garments Fire: History Repeats Itself

1 1 2,3 Hasanat Alamgir, MBA, PhD, Sharon P. Cooper, PhD, and George L. Delclos, MD, PhD

KEY WORDS: garment; Bangladesh; occupational health; worker safety

One hundred years after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory THE CONTRIBUTION OF GARMENTS TO fire in New York City that caused the death of 146 garment THE COUNTRY’S ECONOMY workers, a garment fire on November 24, 2012 in Bangladesh resulted in 111 deaths under remarkably similar circum- In an area, the size of Wisconsin, Bangladesh houses a stances. The majority of these workers were also young population of 161 million people. The median age of its women, economically disadvantaged, migrants, and, by any population is 23.6 years. The GDP per capita is $1,900 and definition, vulnerable. 31.5% of the population lives below the poverty line. With a Fires have been a persistent problem in Bangladesh’s labor force of 75.4 million, the unemployment rate is 5% garment industry for more than a decade, with hundreds of [Central Intelligence Agency, 2013]. Garment exports, and workers killed over the years. This most recent episode broke remittances from Bangladeshis who live and work overseas out in a factory just outside Dhaka, the capital city where accounted for almost 12% of GDP during fiscal year 2010 workers were making clothes for major multinationals [Central Intelligence Agency, 2013]. including Wal-Mart and Sears [Bustillo et al., 2012; Manik Bangladesh is the world’s second largest exporter of and Yardley, 2012]. This was the worst industrial accident in apparel after China. Each year, Bangladesh exports about Bangladesh’s history and prompted widespread calls inside $19 billion worth of ready-to-wear clothes, mostly to Europe and outside the country for better safety measures in this and the United States [Quadir and Paul, 2012]. There are industry. more than 4,500 garment factories there, which employ more than four million workers [Manik and Yardley, 2012]. More than three quarters of Bangladesh’s export earnings 1SchoolofPublicHealth,UniversityofTexas,SanAntonioCampus,Texas come from the garment industry, which began attracting 2SchoolofPublicHealth,UniversityofTexas,Houston,Texas foreign buyers in the 1980s due to low production costs, 3Center for Research in Occupational Health, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, largely attributable to inexpensive and abundant labor. Catalunya,Spain Wal-Mart, Tesco, H&M, Carrefour, Gap, JCPenney, Marks Sincethiseditorialwasoriginallywritten,therehasbeenamoredisastrousincidentatthe & Spencer, and Kohl’s are among the large global retailers endofAprilwhenthecollapseofabuildingoutsideDhakakilledover1,100garmentworkers that import clothes from Bangladesh [Reuters, 2012]. makingmostoftherecommendationsinthiscommentaryevenmorerelevantandpress- ing.Thislastepisodehasattractedwideinternationalattentionandisgeneratingdebateon The industry is critical to the national economy of this the role of these factories’clients and consumers of the products manufactured there, in developing country as a source of employment and foreign termsofhowtheycanwieldtheirinfluenceonsecuringbetterworkingconditions.Several currency and is expected to grow rapidly over the next decade groups(Westerngovernments,majorretailers,etc.)havesteppedforwardandcommitted resources. Perhaps a task force should be formed to co-ordinate, prioritize and assure as China, given rising labor costs, has started to divest from appropriateuseoftheseresources. this business. DisclosureStatement:Theauthorsreportnoconflictsofinterests. *Correspondenceto:HasanatAlamgir,MBA,PhD,SchoolofPublicHealth,Universityof Texas,San Antonio Campus, 7411John Smith Drive, Suite1100,San Antonio,TX 78229. E-mail:[email protected] THE HIGH COSTS TO THE WORKERS

Accepted 26 March 2013 ’ DOI10.1002/ajim.22196.Publishedonline28June2013inWileyOnlineLibrary Bangladesh s success in this booming garment business (wileyonlinelibrary.com). has largely depended on keeping wages depressed and

ß 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 1114 Alamgir et al. restricting the rights of workers. The minimum wage in the prevent these tragedies from occurring in developing garment industry is only around $37 a month, and workers countries, without a need for high-cost modifications. While cannot unionize [Quadir and Paul, 2012]. Most of the the global, political, and economic issues may be quite garment workers are young women who migrate for these complex, the translation of basic fire protection activities is jobs to the capital city from rural areas. These Bangladeshi straightforward and inexpensive. Proven interventions such women work in harsh conditions at the garment factories as provision of adequate escape paths, fire drills, emergency with minimal or no workplace health and safety regulations, plans and training, first aid, fire and smoke alarm systems, programs, and practices. safety and exit signage, and announcement systems should The rapid growth of employment of women in the be implemented immediately. Additional recommendations garment industry in Bangladesh has brought new oppor- include provisions to address the threat of being locked in tunities for mobility, workforce participation, economic during a fire as well as locating health care centers gains, and has even been associated with increased in proximity to industry [Huda et al., 2012]. In addition, enrollment of young girls in school [Heath and Mobarak, this opportunity to promote higher level policy changes 2012]. At the same time, however, the growth of this industry involving safety, skill development, upward mobility, has led to reinforcement of gender segregation into low- improved health care, and wage enhancement should not paying, exploitive, and potentially hazardous jobs [Feldman, be missed [Akhter et al., 2010]. Further, previous studies also 2009], with resulting low satisfaction among workers about suggest building dormitories, improved awareness of legal their safety and compensation [Huda et al., 2012]. rights and responsibilities amongst workers and owners, In addition to the fatal hazard of fire, previous research as well as greater monitoring and enforcement of existing studies [Aderaw et al., 2011; Aghili et al., 2012; Lombardo laws. et al., 2012; Nagoda et al., 2012; Ozkurt et al., 2012; Serinken Globalization of the economy has led to self-regulation et al., 2012; Tahir et al., 2012] on employment in garment, of multinational companies, and the increased call for shoe manufacturing, textile, and weaving factories have Corporate Social Responsibility, including Corporate Codes highlighted adverse working conditions to include crowded of Conduct [Prieto-Carron, 2008]. The catastrophic fire in workspaces, poor lighting and air quality, and a variety of Bangladesh 101 years after the New York City fire demands ergonomic hazards, such as repetitive movements, awkward that both developed and developing countries act not only as postures, and piecemeal work. Irrespective of gender, one witnesses to this and other similar tragedies but also to study conducted in-depth interviews with 110 garment formulate changes in response. Globalization inextricably workers across 11 factories in Bangladesh and workers links the need and responsibility to improve workplace safety reported substandard wages, long work hours, job insecurity, and health, both domestically and globally. In the current physical and verbal abuse, and even calorie deficiency [Islam research climate of translational science, what simpler, more and Zahid, 2012]. effective translation can there be than sharing basic health Among the adverse health effects associated with and safety knowledge with workers, manufacturers, and garment factory employment, vision disorders musculoskel- policymakers in the developing world? etal disorders and respiratory abnormalities (ranging from chronic cough and difficulty in breathing to asthma) among the workers have been reported in newspapers. These health REFERENCES issues are compounded by limited access to quality health care. Aderaw Z, Engdaw D, Tadesse T. 2011. Determinants of occupational injury: A case control study among textile factory workers in Amhara regional state, Ethiopia. J Trop Med 2011:657275. INTEGRATING LAW, POLICY, AND Aghili MM, Asilian H, Poursafa P. 2012. Evaluation of musculoskeletal ADVOCACY WITH SCIENCE disorders in sewing machine operators of a shoe manufacturing factory in Iran. J Pak Med Assoc 62(3 Suppl 2):S20–S25. Workplace tragedies have the ability to raise public Akhter S, Salahuddin A, Iqbal M, Malek A, Jahan N. 2010. Health awareness and to catalyze change. Frances Perkins was an and occupational safety for female workforce of garment industries in Bangladesh. J Mech Eng 41:65–70. inadvertent witness to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, and became the first woman to be appointed to a cabinet Bustillo M, Wright T, Banjo S. 2012. For Wal-Mart, sears, tough questions in Bangladesh. WSJ 2013(March 7). http://online.wsj.com/ position as Secretary of Labor under President Franklin D. article/SB10001424127887324010704578418781061862600.html? Roosevelt. She contributed to and implemented many of the mod¼WSJ_article_forsub New Deal reforms, including labor standards that are still in Central Intelligence Agency. 2013. The world factbook. 2013 (March 7). effect today [Francis Perkins Center, 2013]. http://cia-world-factbook.realclearworld.com/l/793/Bangladesh fi Massive re incidents are now a rare event in the Feldman S. 2009. Historicizing garment manufacturing in Bangladesh: developed nations, and the technology and know-how exist to Gender, generation, and new regulatory regimes. JIWS 11:268–288. Garments Fire in Bangladesh 1115

Francis Perkins Center. Honoring and learning from the first woman Ozkurt S, Kargi BA, Kavas M, Evyapan F, Kiter G, Baser S. 2012. appointed to a United States cabinet. 2013 (March 7). http://www. Respiratory symptoms and pulmonary functions of workers employed in francesperkinscenter.org/life.html.francesperkinscenter.org/ Turkish textile dyeing factories. Int J Environ Res Public Health 9(4): 1068–1076. Heath R, Mobarak M. 2012. Supply and demand constraints on educational investment: Evidence from garment sector jobs and the Prieto-Carron M. 2008. Women workers, industrialization, global female stipend program in Bangladesh. Working Paper 2013 (March 7): supply chains and corporate codes of conduct. JOBE 83(1):5–17. 52. Quadir S, Paul R. 2012. Unrest threatens Bangladesh’s $19-billion Huda S, Akhtar N, Akhtar A. 2012. Employee’s view on job satisfaction: clothing industry. G&M 2013 (March 7). http://www.theglobeandmail. A study on garments industry in Bangladesh. IJMSS 5:1–9. com/report-on-business/international-business/asian-pacific-business/ unrest-threatens-bangladeshs-19-billion-clothing-industry/article4528109/ Islam M, Zahid D. 2012. Socioeconomic deprivation and garment ?cmpid¼rss1&utm_source¼feedburner&utm_medium¼feed&utm_ worker movement in Bangladesh: A sociological analysis. Am J Social campaign¼Feed%3AþTheGlobeAndMail-Frontþ%28TheþGlobeþ Res 2:82–89. andþMailþ-þLatestþNews%29 Lombardo SR, Vijitha de Silva P, Lipscomb HJ, Ostbye T. 2012. Reuters. 2012. Thousands demonstrate in Bangladesh after deadly Musculoskeletal symptoms among female garment factory workers in blaze. 2013 (March 7). http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/26/us- Sri Lanka. Int J Occup Environ Health 18(3):210–219. bangladesh-fire-idUSBRE8AP05T20121126 Manik J, Yardley J. 2012. Bangladesh find gross negligence in factory Serinken M, Turkcuer I, Dagli B, Karcioglu O, Zencir M, Uyanik E. fire. NYT 2013 (March 7). http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/18/world/ 2012. Work-related injuries in textile industry workers in Turkey. Ulus asia/bangladesh-factory-fire-caused-by-gross-negligence.html?_r¼0 Travma Acil Cerrahi Derg 18(1):31–36. Nagoda M, Okpapi JU, Babashani M. 2012. Assessment of respiratory Tahir MW, Mumtaz MW, Tauseef S, Sajjad M, Nazeer A, Farheen N, symptoms and lung function among textile workers at Kano Textile Iqbal M. 2012. Monitoring of cotton dust and health risk assessment in Mills, Kano, Nigeria. Niger J Clin Pract 15(4):373–379. small-scale weaving industry. Environ Monit Assess 184(8):4879–4888.