Labour rights groups are calling for action after fires killed around 265 garment and footwear factory workers in two separate incidents in Pakistan recently. In what is one of the worst incidents reported in Pakistan, a fire completely engulfed a five-story garment factory named as Ali Enterprises located at Baldia Town No 2 in the port city of Karachi. More than 240 people were reported to have been killed and over 50 were seriously injured by burns and smoke inhalation.

According to reports, many victims were trapped in a basement with no fire exits and locked doors. Most died from suffocation when the basement filled with smoke. Other workers on higher floors rushed to windows to escape but struggled to get out because metal bars blocked their way.

Around 2,000 people were employed at the factory, and around 1500 workers were in the building when the fire broke. The factory works around the clock in three 8-hour shifts producing underwear. The factory is now in danger of collapsing, and its owner is under investigation. Earlier, a blaze in the eastern city of Lahore killed at least 25 people and injured 14 other workers in a four-story shoe-making factory. It is thought the fire broke out after sparks from a generator caught flammable material, which was stored without using safety measures.

There are around 4,000 garment-making factories in Pakistan, mostly located at Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad. Many of them are not properly equipped with emergency services, and municipal rules are rarely enforced.

UK anti-sweatshop group Labour Behind the Label is now calling on the fashion industry to do more to ensure the safety of workers. Although it is not yet clear if the factories were producing for the domestic or the export market, the fires highlight issues that are endemic throughout the garment industry, it says. "These deaths could and should have been avoided," said Sam Maher of Labour Behind the Label.

"Emergency exits were non-existent or locked, and workers were trapped. This is the usual pattern: it is well known that many workplaces are unsafe, and that workers in key producing countries risk their lives on a daily basis producing clothes for Europe and the US". Seiji Machida, head of the International Labor Organization's (ILO) Safe Work Programme, added to calls for stronger legal and other supporting measures to improve workplace safety and health in all countries, particularly in developing countries.

As the unions and labour groups in Pakistan held major protests, brands sourcing from the country are being urged to undertake immediate reviews of their suppliers. The Ali Enterprise factory in Karachi, which burned down on was believed to be supplying goods to the European market. Worker rights group the Clean Clothes Campaign is now warning that similar disasters could happen again if the root causes of these fires are not urgently addressed. The International Labour Organization (ILO), meanwhile, has set out a series of measures to try to strengthen workplace safety, to prevent a similar tragedy from happening in the future.


Francesco d'Ovidio, ILO Pakistan Country Director, flew to Karachi to meet with Dr Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan, Governor of Sindh Province, as well as providing support to the victims' families; he said the ILO is ready to offer immediate and medium-term assistance. "We will help enterprises put in place a safe work culture in workplaces through the rapid training of labour inspectors in Sindh," he added. The ILO is calling for the restoration of labour inspections in all factories and has pledged to help build the capacity of Sindh Labour Department in order to improve inspections. It will also help employers and workers develop a code of conduct and will promote the idea of self-regulation by employers.


The National Trade Union Federation in Karachi says the factory fire is not an isolated one but a regular occurrence in an industry that is poorly regulated and largely nonunionised. The Clean Clothes Campaign also insists that the fire follows a pattern of negligence occurring not just in Pakistan but throughout the garment industry.


In Bangladesh for example, whose industry has suffered from a spate of similar fires involving brands such as H&M, Zara and Gap, a memorandum of understanding was signed earlier this year by trade unions, labour rights groups and US based company PVH, which owns the Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein brands. The agreement provides for independent inspections, training, and workers committees on health and safety issues.


This article was originally published in the Stitch Times magazine, October, 2012