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Wednesday - May 22, 2013

Tuesday - May 21, 2013

Monday - May 20, 2013

DHAKA, Bangladesh — The factory where 112 garment workers died in a fire should have been shut down months ago. The fire department refused to renew the certification it needed to operate, a top fire official told The Associated Press. And its owner told AP that just three of the factory's eight floors were legal. He was building a ninth.

Government officials knew of the problems, but the factory just kept running.

The Capital Development Authority could have fined Tazreen Fashions Ltd. or pushed for the demolition of illegally built portions of the building, said an agency official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. But it chose to do nothing, rather than confront one of Bangladesh's most powerful industries, he said.

“I must say we have our weaknesses. We could not do that,” he said. “Not only Tazreen. There are hundreds more buildings. That's the truth.”

Bangladesh's $20 billion-a-year garment industry, which accounts for 80 percent of Bangladesh's total export earnings, goes virtually unchallenged by the government, said Kalpona Akter, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, a labor rights group.

“These factories should be shut down, but who will do that?” she said. “Any good government inspector who wants to act tough against such rogue factories would be removed from office. Who will take that risk?”

Fire officials did challenge the factory, though they appeared reluctant to go too far.

When the factory's fire safety certification expired June 30, Dhaka's fire authorities refused to renew it, a fire official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

A factory must be certified to operate, but the department usually gives factory owners some time to upgrade conditions. If they fail to do so, the department can file a court case to get it closed down. But it rarely does, and did not in Tazreen's case.

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