Washington - In wake of the Rana Plaza building collapse, which killed more than 1,100 people, Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus Joe Crowley (D-NY), founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Bangladesh, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI), and other House Democrats sent a letter to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina strongly urging the Bangladeshi authorities to join in a comprehensive, concrete, and coordinated plan to ensure worker safety and rights in Bangladesh.
“…[W]e believe there is simply no substitute for tough, comprehensive, uncompromising government support for legislation and fully-resourced law enforcement and administrative action… that both empowers workers and prevents more accidents from happening," write the lawmakers in the letter.
The letter continues, “As Members of Congress deeply concerned with the well-being of the people of Bangladesh, we urge you to put the highest priority on aggressively enacting and enforcing comprehensive reforms that addresses these concerns and join in a broad-based effort to ensure that workers in Bangladesh are assured basic safety and internationally-recognized rights in the workplace."
In addition to the Rana Plaza disaster, the members point to other recent industrial accidents in Bangladesh, including the deadly Tazreen Fashions garment factory fire in November 2012 and the unresolved killing of labor organizer Aminul Islam, as continued issues of concern.
