An electrical short circuiting in the Saiem Fashion factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh sparked the deadly fire on the 6th of March 2006. With the sole exit blocked, workers struggled to escape,with the ensuing stampede killing 3 female empoyees and leaving 50 wounded. These untimely deaths have been added to at least 75 others since the 23rd of February, all of which have been caused by unsafe working conditions and neglectful factory management. Two factory fires in Chittagong in the last week of February, the collapse of the Dhaka factory the same week, and the recent Gazipur incident have called sharp attention to the inhumane treatment of workers in Bangladeshi factories. Each of these catastrophies could have been avoided if proper safety regulations had been set in place and followed accordingly. Unfortunately the Bangadesh garment industry has failed to adopt sufficient safety provisions and workers are paying the price with their lives. Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the International Textile Garment and Leather Workers' Federation asserts, "such inaction, uninterest and negligence  renders these recent deaths in Chittagong and Dhaka nothing short of murder."

Urgent action is indisputably needed to insure that such events do not continue to threaten the lives of workers. Factories must be forced to update and maintain fire safety standards. The Clean Clothes Campaign and Labour Behind the Label are calling for the formation of an independant international committee to investigate the devestating events of the past two weeks and to assure that workers and their families are justly compensated for their losses. In truth, garment workers are subject to many safety risks other than fire: in 2005, atleast 130 Bangladeshi garment workers died on the job and 490 suffered injuries due a range of hazards. Action must be taken immediately to change the fate of Bangladeshi workers and to bring to justice those who risk the lives of others for economic gain.