Bangladesh honours Rana Plaza disaster victims amid renewed wage demands

On Monday, thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers staged an emotional commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in the Savar district, one of the worst industrial accidents of all time, causing 1,138 casualties.

The commemoration, in the presence of many of the disaster's survivors, took place at the site of the tragic building, home to several textile workshops on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, and at the cemetery where a number of victims are now buried.

The incident of 24th April 2013 shone a sinister light on the outsourcing practices of some of the world’s major brands, as they seek to cut production costs in a globalised economy.

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Four years after the catastrophe, the Bangladeshi justice system has yet to pass any verdict on the Rana Plaza affair, though last year one of the country's courts has put the building's owner and 40 others on trial for murder.

"If four years aren't enough to punish the culprits, bring them to us, we will mete out our own justice," said Marium Akter, who lost her daughter Shieuly in the collapse, as she laid a memorial wreath.

"I do not need any indemnification. I want Sohel Rana, the owner, to be hanged," added the grieving mother.

The suspects are accused of lying about the building's level of safety. Thousands of textile workers had been compelled to go to work in the building, even though some of them had expressed their concerns for a series of cracks in the structure. Some 2,000 people were also injured in the collapse.

The commemoration was also the occasion for renewed salary rise appeals on behalf of Bangladesh's four million garment industry workers, whose minimum wage is only $68 per month.

"Bangladeshi workers are the worst-paid in the world. We ask for a $200 minimum monthly wage, in order to live decently," said union representative Saiful Islam to the AFP news agency.

Bangladesh is the world's second largest textile exporter after China. The sector is worth $30 billion for the country, and comprises 4,500 workshops and factories, of which barely a few hundred comply with basic safety requirements.