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Bangladeshi Garment Workers Speak at WVU About Unsafe Factory Conditions
Written by Phyllis Smith
Last updated on March 04, 2015 @ 3:22PM
Created on March 04, 2015 @ 2:57PM
Mountaineers for Fair Labor and Oxfam at WVU held a panel Wednesday in the Mountainlair about the need for safe workplaces and living wages for workers overseas.
They had two Bangladeshi garment workers come and talk about their experiences. One of them, Mahinur Begum, is a survivor of the Rana Plaza factory collapse that happened in 2013. This terrible event claimed the lives of over 1,100 Bangladeshi garment workers.
The two women talked about the causes and consequences of deadly working conditions in their country and how they're trying to change that by getting companies to sign the Bangladesh Safety Accord.
This discussion is part of a nationwide movement called End Deathtraps. This campaign is forcing brands to accept responsibility for the safety conditions in their factories.
Through these efforts, different student organizations at WVU are hoping they can affiliate the university with the Worker Rights Consortium. This is a labor rights factory watchdog group with over 180 university affiliates.
This would be an initial step toward creating accountability and transparency behind the production of Mountaineer apparel. For more information, head to www.workersrights.org.
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