Rana Plaza: 10 years after the Bangladesh factory collapse, we are no closer to fixing modern slavery

The Rana Plaza collapse prompted global initiatives aimed at reforming supply chain management and improving worker safety. A decade on, appalling conditions are still rife, writes University of Aberdeen Chair in Accountancy and Professor in Sustainability Accounting and Transparency Muhammad Azizul Islam.

It’s ten years since the tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza building near Dhaka, Bangladesh, which killed at least 1,132 garment workers and injured several thousand more. The collapse of the eight-storey building on April 24 2013, which housed five factories making clothes for western high street brands like Accessorize, Primark and Walmart, was the worst of its kind in the world.

The owner, Mohammed Sohel Rana, had allegedly been told by an engineer the day before that the building was not safe and should be evacuated. Ten years on, the murder trial against him and another 35 defendants has still not been concluded.

The tragedy shed a light on the appalling conditions that sometimes exist in the global retail supply chain. Wealthy countries have unveiled lots of initiatives in the ensuing years to make things better. Unfortunately, the situation has not improved. So where are we going wrong?

Source Financial Accountant click here to read more.