Poor working conditions plague Bangladesh's garments industry
Garment factory worker Rahima holds her daughter Ritu Moni inside her slum house in Savar. Bangladesh’s $19-billion garments industry attracts some of the world's biggest clothing brands because of low costs, but many retailers say unrest over pay and delayed shipping schedules are eroding that advantage.ANDREW BIRAJ/Reuters
Women work at a garment factory in Savar, Bangladesh. The killing of a labour activist and publicity about unsafe working conditions has some retailers worried about their reputation.ANDREW BIRAJ/Reuters
Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of Swedish multinational retail clothing company Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), speaks at a press conference in Dhaka Sept. 4, 2012, urging Bangladesh to increase its minimum wage.ANDREW BIRAJ/Reuters
Beauty stands inside her slum house at Hatirjheel in Dhaka. Beauty, who works in a garment factory as a helper for $37.50 a month, shares her room with three other garment workers.ANDREW BIRAJ/Reuters
Sharifa, who works as a labourer in one of Bangladesh’s 4,500 garment factories, cooks rice in a common cooking area inside her slum house at Hatirjheel in Dhaka.ANDREW BIRAJ/Reuters
Women who work at this garment factory in Savar labour ten hours a day for about $37.50 per month.ANDREW BIRAJ/Reuters
Women work at a garment factory in Savar, Bangladesh. Ready-made garments make up 80 per cent of the country’s $24-billion in annual exports.ANDREW BIRAJ/Reuters
Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of the Swedish fashion group Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), poses in Dhaka Sept. 4, 2012. H&M, sensitive to criticism about poor pay and conditions at its clothing suppliers in Asia, has urged Bangladesh to introduce annual pay reviews for garment workers.ANDREW BIRAJ/Reuters