February 28, 2006  |  Share

Factory Fire in Bangladesh Kills 84 Workers Producing for American Companies

Ask U.S. companies for justice for the killed and injured workers

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Death toll at the KTS Textile Industries Ltd. factory in Bangladesh is 84, but could climb as high as 200 or 300

• Main emergency exit was illegaly locked
• Many of the dead and missing were 12, 13, 14 and 15 year-old girls who were paid just seven cents an hour
• Bodies were burnt beyond recognition

Sewing operators at the KTS Textile factory were paid just 10 to 14 cents an hour and forced to work 10 ½ to 14 hours a day, seven days a week.  They were routinely at the factory 74 to over 90 hours a week.

Workers report being slapped and hit, denied maternity leave, docked a day's wages for arriving late, needing permission to use the toilet, only having access to unsafe drinking water, total denial of freedom of association and right to organize.

Workers have never heard of, let alone seen, any U.S. companies' codes of conduct.

The KTS Textile Factory was producing for these U.S. companies: Ambiance USA, INc., O'Rite International Corp, Uni Hosiery, ATT Enterprise, Inc., VIDA Enterprises Corp. and Leslee Scott, Inc.

Table of Contents 

Chittagong, Bangladesh 

(part of Arina Group, located in BSCIC Industrial Area of Kalurghat)

Owner: Wahidul Kabir

On Thursday evening, February 23, 2006, at approximately 7:20 p.m., a fire broke out at the KTS Textile factory in Chittagong.  The main emergency gate was illegally locked, leaving hundreds of workers with just one narrow staircase to escape.  Boxes of clothing cluttered the stairs.  There was no fire safety equipment, and no fire drill had ever been held, despite the fact that fires have occurred in the past.

• "There was no fire alarm, no bells; just screams, people running for exits or grabbing each other for safety, and complete darkness"My skin was burning from the heat even in the staircase, although I couldn't see the fire—and it was becoming difficult to keep breathing," said one woman worker at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital who was bandaged from head to foot with severe burns.
• "The most unfortunate were the women.  They could do nothing but be burnt alive,"  said one survivor worker.
• Surviving worker Thakurani Das only realized the factory was on fire when she heard "screams of agony and panic from the ground floor and the factory was suddenly plunged into darkness."
• "Many of us had to get out of the building using ropes, bamboo, and other construction materials, but most of our female colleagues could not follow us and were trapped inside." said Hasan, an injured worker. Many bodies were found on the staircase.
• Another worker, Delwar Hossain, testified, "Some of us suffered injuries jumping out the windows, or racing to escape through a narrow staircase that was fortunately open." Many workers died after jumping out of 3rd and 4th floor windows.

Sources: New Age Extra, March 3-9, 2006; The Daily Star, February 24, 2006; The New Nation, February 24, 2006; The Financial Express, February 25, 2006. Back to the top
Among Those Initially Reported Dead or Missing Were Seven Girls 12, 13 and 14 Years Old

Many 15 and 16-year-olds were also among the dead and missing.  Unfortunately this list will only grow.

The death toll has risen from 54 to 84, with 80 percent of the confirmed dead women.  Local independent women's and worker rights organizations fear the death toll could reach as high as 200, or even 300 people.  Many bodies were burned beyond recognition.

The KTS Textile factory is also now being officially charged with the exploitation of child labor.

Fifty workers are still missing and as many as 450 have been injured.

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KTS Textile Factory Conditions

• Forced Overtime 

10.5 to 14-hour shifts, seven days a week, workers routinely at the factory 74 to more than 90 hours a week.

The standard shift at the KTS Textile factory is from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., 9:00 p.m., or 10:00 p.m.  The workers receive a half hour for lunch.  Workers report having to work seven days a week, without a single weekly holiday—Friday is the Muslim day off—in the last three months.  Nor do the workers receive government decreed national holidays.  The only time they had off during this period was for the Eid religious festival.  The workers also report being forced to work grueling 19-hour all-night shifts, on average once a week, from 8:00 a.m. straight through to 3:00 a.m. the following morning, after which the workers sleep on the factory floor only to begin their next shift at 8:00 a.m. that same day.  Under this schedule, the workers would routinely be at the factory 74 to well over 90 hours a week.

• Below-Subsistence Wages

Sewing operators receive just 10 cents to 14 cents an hour, while helpers receive seven or eight cents.

Junior sewing operators at the KTS factory earn 1,400 taka ($20.65) a month, while senior operators—with more than three or four years of experience—are paid 2,000 taka ($29.50) a month.  Helpers, who supply the assembly lines with fabric, earn just 930 to 1,100 taka ($13.72 to $16.22) a month.  (67.798 taka = $1 U.S.
 

• Routinely Slapped and Threatened

Workers report being routinely shouted at, slapped and threatened by management for failing to fulfill their mandatory production goal, or for even the most minor errors.  Protesting, or even questioning their mistreatment, often provokes further abuse.

• Legal Maternity Rights Violated

By law, pregnant women are guaranteed at least three months maternity leave with full pay.  This is not the case at the KTS Textiles factory, where pregnant women are either fired or must quit, and then return to the factory as a new employee.

• Bathroom Visits Monitored

Workers are required to ask permission and must receive a toilet pass in order to use the bathroom.  Nor are there sufficient toilets for the hundreds of workers.

• Unsafe Drinking Water

The workers have access to only unfiltered tap water, which is unsafe.

• Docked a Day's Wages for Arriving Late

Anyone arriving late will be punished by having a full day's wages docked.

• Total Suppression of Freedom of Association, the Right to Organize and to Bargain Collectively

Anyone even suspected of wishing to exercise their legal rights to freedom of association and to organize a union will be threatened and immediately fired without their back wages.

• No Place to Eat 

The workers report that the factory lacks even the most primitive dining facilities.

• No Daycare Center

There is also no daycare center, which is illegal for a factory of this size.

• Corporate Codes of Conduct Unknown and Meaningless

Not a single worker interviewed had ever heard of, let alone seen, any so-called corporate code of conduct.  The workers had no idea that their supposed function was to help guarantee respect for their legal rights.

KTS Textile Industries Ltd.-Buyer Contact Info

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