Collin Edgington
Professor Hollis
English 1510
29 March 2015
Rana Plaza: Was it Safe? Have you ever asked yourself the question: Am I assured safety going into work today? Most people would answer the question with “yes”, even without knowing the true answer. This was the case in Bangladesh for many workers who worked at the Rana Plaza factory. This was one of many factories in Bangladesh that has been constructed without legal permission. The workers had no idea about the status of the building and chance of collapse, but the owner Sohel Rana did. In April 2013, the building collapsed, generating an immense controversy and a high death toll. Among these controversies were how the collapse affected the workers, companies that relied on manufacturing …show more content…
Sohel Rana, the owner, had it built by “draining water from a pond and filling it with concrete foundations” (Syed, Wright). This way of construction was not very supportive and safe, and would soon come to backfire on Sohel Rana. With a history of buildings being built illegally in Bangladesh, the Rana Plaza was added to that list. Syed and Wright explain in their article how the factory “was built without proper permission on unstable land” (“Collapsed Factory Was Built Without Permit”). The plaza was mainly constructed of factories, with thousands of people constantly working inside to support their families. These workers were doing their everyday routine of going into work on April 24th of 2013, the day of the …show more content…
Scott Nova shares a statistic in his article saying that over 1,300 deaths of apparel workers in Bangladesh have come from six different building disasters (32). Without the improvement of safety laws, this number would most likely climb to a higher number. It is already 1,300 too much. Are the buildings inspected properly before workers are ordered in? That is a big question in the role of safety inspections in Bangladesh. This question is answered: With one exception, every one of the factory buildings in which workers have died in fires and collapses in Bangladesh since 2010 had been repeatedly inspected by industry monitors. These were not subcontract factories flying beneath the industry’s radar. (Nova 34)
This quotation from Scott Nova shows how the factories do run inspections, but the quality of them becomes a problem. How are all of these factories collapsing with inspections being done? When answering this question, Scott Nova says “the only plausible explanation is the most disturbing one: The inspection programs failed because they were geared much more toward protecting the image and reputation of the brands and retailers than the safety of workers” (Nova 34). If this doesn’t produce a new reform of safety and inspection laws in Bangladesh, nothing will. The workers are being placed behind profits of
Professor Hollis
English 1510
29 March 2015
Rana Plaza: Was it Safe? Have you ever asked yourself the question: Am I assured safety going into work today? Most people would answer the question with “yes”, even without knowing the true answer. This was the case in Bangladesh for many workers who worked at the Rana Plaza factory. This was one of many factories in Bangladesh that has been constructed without legal permission. The workers had no idea about the status of the building and chance of collapse, but the owner Sohel Rana did. In April 2013, the building collapsed, generating an immense controversy and a high death toll. Among these controversies were how the collapse affected the workers, companies that relied on manufacturing …show more content…
Sohel Rana, the owner, had it built by “draining water from a pond and filling it with concrete foundations” (Syed, Wright). This way of construction was not very supportive and safe, and would soon come to backfire on Sohel Rana. With a history of buildings being built illegally in Bangladesh, the Rana Plaza was added to that list. Syed and Wright explain in their article how the factory “was built without proper permission on unstable land” (“Collapsed Factory Was Built Without Permit”). The plaza was mainly constructed of factories, with thousands of people constantly working inside to support their families. These workers were doing their everyday routine of going into work on April 24th of 2013, the day of the …show more content…
Scott Nova shares a statistic in his article saying that over 1,300 deaths of apparel workers in Bangladesh have come from six different building disasters (32). Without the improvement of safety laws, this number would most likely climb to a higher number. It is already 1,300 too much. Are the buildings inspected properly before workers are ordered in? That is a big question in the role of safety inspections in Bangladesh. This question is answered: With one exception, every one of the factory buildings in which workers have died in fires and collapses in Bangladesh since 2010 had been repeatedly inspected by industry monitors. These were not subcontract factories flying beneath the industry’s radar. (Nova 34)
This quotation from Scott Nova shows how the factories do run inspections, but the quality of them becomes a problem. How are all of these factories collapsing with inspections being done? When answering this question, Scott Nova says “the only plausible explanation is the most disturbing one: The inspection programs failed because they were geared much more toward protecting the image and reputation of the brands and retailers than the safety of workers” (Nova 34). If this doesn’t produce a new reform of safety and inspection laws in Bangladesh, nothing will. The workers are being placed behind profits of