1. Name: Muhammad Naeem
Registration ID: (FA12-MBT-059)
Section: A
The topic is concern: The Bangladesh Disaster and Corporate Social Responsibility
Subject Name: Corporate Social Responsibilities
Date: 26/2/2015

2. The Bangladesh Disaster and Corporate Social Responsibility
(According to Case of the Rana Plaza fire in Bangladesh)
In the wake of the horrific clothing factory building
collapse which killed as many as 800 workers near
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Bangladeshigarment workers crushedto death
The collapsed building contained six garment factories
and hundreds of workers and was allegedly illegally built
and had a large structural crack appear in its wall
yesterday. When local authorities brought the crack to the
attention of the garment factory owners ordering them to
evacuate they were ignored, while the shop and bank on
the building’s ground floor heeded the warning and
evacuated.
Textile sector of Bangladesh and CSR
Such “CSR ” pressure aims to force firms to meet a so-
called “triple bottom line” that considers not just profit
but working conditions and impact on the environment,
as well. Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative has put
it, “throughout the industrialized world and in many
developing countries there has been a sharp escalation in
the social roles corporations are expected to play.”
In response to today’s tragedy, the IBC (Industrial Bangladesh Council) is calling for:
 A Judicial Commission to investigate the incident
 Punishment of the owners of the building and the factories for criminal negligence
 Safe working places not death traps
 Compensation to the families of the victims
 Treatment of the injured
Industrial Global Union General Secretary Jyrki Raina said:
This terrible tragedy highlights the urgency of putting a stop to the race to the bottom in
supplying cheap means of production to international brands, a race in which hundreds of
workers have lost their lives. Global clothing brands and retailers have a responsibility for their
full production chains. Now it is time for them, suppliers and the Bangladeshi government to sit
down with Industrial and its affiliates to agree on a safety program that will ensure this will
never happen again.

3. Problems of textile industry in Bangladesh
1. One in which corrupt political relationships allow owners and operators to ignore safety
inspectors, if, indeed, such inspectors even visit.
2. As the New York Times editorialized, Bangladesh has “labor laws and safety standards
which theoretically provide protection but are rarely honored.
3. Bribery and favors
4. Not equal treatment under law
5. The owner of the buildings used for apparel manufacture is said to be politically well-
connected.
6. Regulation is weak or non-existent, or easily avoided through corrupt relationships,
Issues of Bangladesh Textile Industry:
Textile: any fabric or cloth, especially woven.
Apparel, clothing, garment: terms for something that is worn by a person.
Offshoring: the practice of moving a company's operating base to a country where labour costs
are cheaper.
Reshowing: The return of some work to plants based in the country where most sales are made.
Sweatshop: (or sweat factory) a negatively connoted term for a working environment considered
to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous. Sweatshop employees often work long hours for low
wages.
ILO: International Labour Organization, the only multilateral body bringing together
representatives of governments, employers and workers at world level.
Living wage: a living wage is one that permits a basic, but decent, lifestyle considered
acceptable by society at its current level of economic development, such that workers and their
families are able to live above the poverty level and participate in social and cultural life.
Watchdog: an independent organization set up to police a particular industry, ensuring that
member companies do not act illegally.
References:
http://www.industriall-union.org/bangladeshi-garment-workers-crushed-to-death
http://www.forbes.com/sites/howardhusock/2013/05/02/the-bangladesh-fire-and-corporate-
social-responsibility/
Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Office of the Commissioner for Human
Rights, UN, New York and Geneva, 2011, 37 p
OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, OECD, Paris, 25 May 2011, 91 p
NCP report on the implementation of the OECD Guidelines in the textile and clothing sector,
French National Contact Point for implementation of OECD Guidelines for national enterprises,
2 December 2013, 178 p.
Global Wage Trends for Apparel Workers, 2001-2011, Worker Rights Consortium, Washington,
July 2013, 76 p
Tailored Wages UK, Labour behind the label, Bristol, March 2014, 98 p
Fatal Fashion, SOMO, Amsterdam, March 2013, 69 p