Protest targets Primark over Bangladesh workplace disaster
Image by War on Want
War on Want campaigners protest today outside the flagship Primark store in London’s Marble Arch.
The demonstration at the store in London’s Marble Arch demanded the retailer pays full compensation, including loss of earnings, to the injured workers and the families of those who lost their lives, and takes action to prevent any future disasters.
It came on the eve of International Workers’ Memorial Day, which marks workplaces deaths and injuries.
Six thousand workers die each day around the world.
The protest was staged by the anti-poverty charity War on Want, whose sweatshops activist Murray Worthy said: “The disaster in Bangladesh is a tragedy, but it is not an accident.
“If UK high street chains like Primark had put in place proper measures to ensure the workers who make their clothes are safe, these deaths could have been avoided.
“For the families who have lost relatives and the workers injured in this disaster, nothing can undo what they have suffered.
“But, as they face the terrible consequences of this tragedy, it is vital that Primark pays full compensation to the victims and promise to act to ensure these horrific tragedies never happen again.”
War on Want organised the demonstration as the death toll topped 341 after the eight-storey Rana Plaza building collapsed on Wednesday in Savar, 18 miles from the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.
One thousand suffered injuries and scores have been pulled alive from the rubble, but 900 could still be missing.
The charity and its Bangladeshi partner, the National Garment Workers’ Federation, have launched a call on the campaign website Change.org which urges the public to demand that Primark signs the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement in a drive against further disasters.People can join the campaign at www.waronwant.org
blog comments powered by Disqus
