Nasir studied 101 workers (samples) from 4 garments and found that 34.65% of the respondents
feel their job place is unsafe and insecure for them. They have anxiety for electrical faults, fire
accidents, building collapse, stampede, etc. On the other hand 65.35% respondents feel their job
place safe and secure for them. So it is clear that garment workers received alarm for accident of
Rana plaza tragedy and Tazrin garment accident in RMG sector in Bangladesh.
The of hazards in the garments industry of Bangladesh includes crowded conditions, exposed
operating machines, electrical connections are crude and unsafe, a few or no fire extinguishers
inaccessible or malfunctioning, no fire practice is ever performed, managers and workers are not
trained to understand health and safety issues, stairs and floors used as storage; gates remain
closed even in emergency; factory not designed as commercial facility, narrow aisles for fire
fighters to enter and rescue.
This literature review indicates that most garments factories in Bangladesh pay little attention to
labour standards and labour rights, disallow trade union activities, unsafe working environment,
and ineffective laws and discard fair labour practices, and compliance enforcement is limited and
limited role of stakeholders. The factors that affect the safety net of garments workers in
Bangladesh have been identified after synthesis of various articles, expert opinions along with
Accord6 and Alliance7 findings regarding safety issue of garments workers. These factors are:
a) Condition of structure of factory building
b) Adequacy of fire extinguishing appliances
c) Fire fighting practice facility
d) Adequate and wide fire doors
e) Effective smoke detection system
f) Wide aisles for fire fighters to entre and rescue
6
The Accord is a legally binding agreement. The Accord is an independent agreement designed to make all garment
factories in Bangladesh safe workplaces. It includes independent safety inspections at factories and public reporting
of the results of these inspections. It has been signed by over 150 apparel corporations from 20 countries in Europe,
North America, Asia and Australia; two global trade unions, IndustriALL and UNI; and numerous Bangladeshi
unions. Clean Clothes Campaign, Worker Rights Consortium, International Labor Rights Forum and Maquila
Solidarity Network are NGO witnesses to the Accord. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) acts as the
independent chair.
7
The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety is a body established to ensure on-the-ground presence to facilitate its
effort to bring improved fire and structural safety to Bangladesh garment factories. The Alliance—an historic
coalition of global apparel companies and their partners—will unify efforts to dramatically improve garment factory
safety conditions in Bangladesh following a string of deadly factory fires and collapses.