Unions promote corporate accountability and workers’ rights in Bangladesh
The Canadian Labour Congress will join a delegation of Canadian unions in Bangladesh on February 1st to promote corporate accountability and support ongoing efforts to improve workplace health and safety and fair labour practices for garment sector workers.
Representatives from the CLC, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), United Steelworkers (USW), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and Unifor, will be meeting with garment sector workers, representatives of Bangladeshi trade unions, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Bangladeshi government and the Canadian High Commission, as well as family members of victims of the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse.
In April 2013, the eight-story Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed, killing over 1,100 workers and injuring more than 2,000.
After the collapse, apparel brands, retailers and trade unions from around the world signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.
It aims to uphold safe working conditions, and empowering workers – through training and complaint mechanisms – to refuse unsafe work without fear of reprisal.
The CLC, along with the other unions, will see firsthand how the Bangladeshi garment sector has improved workplace health and safety, what work remains to be done, and how Canada can help.
