A2 RIHLA #26

---

Article: Bangladesh garment workers get union rights, higher pay in wake of deadly factory collapse

Summary: The article is essentially about a building in Bangladesh that housed 5 garment factories that collapsed, killing over 1,100 people. Cleaning up the debris was very hectic and saddening since many people were continuously being found dead. This collapse inspired many government officials to rethink the quality of various other buildings housing factories since they do not want many more lives to be lost due to safety hazards regarding the structure of the buildings. Additionally, because of the collapse, the Bangladesh government also gave garment workers the right to unionize without the permission of factory owners. Lastly, the collapse of the building also inspired the Bangladesh government to raise the minimum wage of garment workers.

1. The human rights in this article were violated because garment workers were working in extremely poor and hazardous conditions that were putting their lives at risk. Humans have the basic and common sense right to live, but when you place them in a working environment that can potentially threaten their lives, you are testing the basic human right to live.

2. Regarding what should be done about this situation, I think what they have been doing is pretty fair and respectable such as re-evaluating other buildings that house factories for safety conditions and giving garment workers the right to unionize without the prior permission from factory owners. However, after this, all the countries that have buildings that house factories should re-evaluate all of their buildings for safety hazards, not just Bangladesh.

---