The pope has condemned as “slave labour” the working conditions of the Bangladesh garment workers who died in last week’s Savar factory collapse. Pope Francis said he was shocked by a headline from saying some of the workers were living on €38 (£32) a month. “This was the payment of these people who have died … And this is called ‘slave labour’,” he said during a private mass on Wednesday at the Vatican, the Guardian reports. “Today in the world this slavery is being committed against something beautiful that God has given us — the capacity to create, to work, and to have dignity. “Not paying a fair wage, not giving a job because you are only looking at balance sheets, only looking to make a profit that goes against God,”
Meantime, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has assured Bangladesh of providing full support to the victims of the Savar building collapse as it called for immediate action to stop recurrence of avoidable workplace tragedies.
The European Union, the bloc of 27 countries and major buyers of garments from Bangladesh is considering taking action to oblige Bangladesh to improve safety standards in factories as a way of preventing frequent accidents. The EU has voiced concern over labour conditions, including health and safety provisions, established for workers in factories across the country.
Officially reported the death toll rose to 446 while the number of people rescued alive remained unchanged at 2,437.
Garment factories tragedies in Bangladesh from 2000 to recent:
Retreat of clergies took place in Khulna from July 8-11, 2013. The retreat was added for the seminar for with some academic discussions.
