The Ali Enterprises garment factory in the Karachi area of Pakistan was an accident waiting to happen with its poor fire safety standards. It had stacks of flammable clothing and chemicals stored next to each other and only one fire exit to reduce building costs. Proper fire fighting equipment was not present at the factory and no evacuation plan was provided. Then on Sept. 12th, 2012 almost 300 workers were killed when the factory caught on fire.
This is not an isolated incident. Many other factories across the country have equally poor safety standards, and experts say it is due to a lack of “enforcement of the law. Industrial standards are disregarded to minimize cost as inspectors are paid to look the other way.” – Syed Shoaib Hasan, BBC News, Karachi
Thus we must ask ourselves whose job it is to ensure safety standards are met. If the government is not enforcing the regulations, it falls to the company. However this can be a tough management decision when trying to keep profits high while staying competitive and providing the cheap clothing that consumers around the world desire.
Visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19566851 for more information.