Case Study 1

2013 Savar building collapse

On 24 April 2013 an 8-storey commercial building collapsed in Savar, a sub-district of the Greater Dhaka area, the capital of Bangladesh. Casualties: 1,129 dead, 2,515 injured. It has been called the deadliest accidental structural failure in modern human history.

The building contained clothing factories, a bank, apartments a& several other shops. The shops & the bank on the lower floors immediately closed after cracks were discovered in the building. Warnings to avoid using the building after cracks appeared the day before were ignored. Garment  workers were ordered to return & the building collapsed during the morning rush-hour.

Ethical issues:

a)     Engineering: The upper floors were built without permission. The building was not strong enough to withstand the weight & vibration of heavy machinery.

b)    Administrative: the upper storeys were built without a permit. How then was the building able to go ahead.

c)     Political: the building, Rana Plaza, was owned by Sohel Rana, apparently  a leading member of the Jubo League, the youth wing of the ruling Awami League political party.

d)    Employers: the garment workers were ordered back into an unsafe building by employers keen to maximize production & profit. Some workers were threatened with loss of a month’s pay if they refused. Further investigation revealed also the low pay & poor working conditions inside the garment factories.

e)    Building & factory inspectors: were they guilty of negligence for renewing the licenses of garment factories in the building that collapsed?

f)      International brands/companies: the garment factories produced clothing for brands such as Benetton, Mango, Primark & Walmart. Do these companies have an ethical responsibility to ensure that their goods are produced in safe factories where workers’ rights are respected? What of corporate social responsibility across global supply chains?

The day after the collapse, the Dhaka city development authority filed a case against the owners of the building & the 5 garment factories operating inside it. Sohel Rana, the owner, was arrested  4 days after the collapse on the Indo-Bangladeshi border.