Bangladesh

Hundreds of garment workers in dozens of factories across Bangladesh were injured on April 26 after the country was rocked by a major earthquake centered in neighboring Nepal. Authorities say that many of those injuries were caused as workers panicked while evacuating their factories fearing that the buildings would collapse. Over 5,000 lives have so far been claimed in connection with the quake, at least 4 of them in Bangladesh. (Dhaka Tribune)
 
Both the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh have announced fresh rounds of building inspections following the major earthquake that struck the country on April 26. Both groups say that they have identified numerous vulnerable facilities whose structural integrity may have been affected by the quake and will visit all of these facilities in the coming days to determine if their internal structures have been compromised. (Financial Express) / (New Age BD)
 
At least 7 women were injured by police gunfire on April 26 amid a scuffle outside of their factory. Police were called to the facility in an attempt to disburse a group of 400 workers who were staging a sit-in in front of their facility, which closed suddenly earlier this month, demanding immediate payment of their outstanding salaries. Tension ensued after the workers refused to leave their posts, which reportedly led to physical actions from both sides. (New Age BD)
 
A new 3-year Worker Empowerment Program has been announced in Bangladesh to support labor rights, union organizing, and women’s empowerment in the readymade garment sector. The program will be administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and will work to build the capacity of RMG workers to protect their rights and promote their own interests. This program will compliment the existing Global Labor Program which has trained over 65,000 people. (USAID ) / (Fibre2Fashion)
 
Global NGO Transparency International says that 220 garment factories have been shuttered since the Rana Plaza tragedy in 2013, resulting in over 150,000 job losses. The findings were revealed in a new report released by the group which looked at data between April 2014 and March 2015 and found that the rate of factory closures during that period was 4 times greater than in the previous 12 months. The report also says that another 700,000 jobs may be lost if this trend continues. (Reuters)