The US will continue to engage with its companies to discuss what role they can play in improving the working conditions in Bangladesh as businesses operating in the collapsed Savar building appear to have links to numerous companies in the US and Europe.
“The US actively engages with the highest levels of the government of Bangladesh, with exporters, and with buyers on the issues of workers’ rights and safe working conditions,” acting deputy spokesperson of the US Department of State Patrick Ventrell told reporters in a daily briefing in Washington on Wednesday.
Responding to a question whether they have information on any US company having the workers in this building which collapsed last week, Ventrell said, “We understand that businesses operating in this building appear to have links to numerous companies in the US and Europe.”
He said they have an ongoing dialogue with US buyers led by Assistant Secretary Blake and by their Acting Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. “And so we continue to speak with many US companies that source from Bangladesh about workplace safety and the role that buyers can play in improving working conditions.”
Replying to another question whether they have been able to identify these companies, Ventrell said some of these companies are already identifying themselves.
“I know it’s a complex supply chain in terms of who’s bought what goods from what supplier, but some of the companies have identified themselves. But we discuss these issues broadly with companies that operate in Bangladesh and, as I’ve said, we’ve raised the issue with exporters, with buyers, and directly with the government. And we do that at the assistant secretary level and the ambassador level regularly,” he explained.
The spokesperson said this (Savar tragedy) is a really terrible tragedy, and their hearts continue to go out to the victims of the building collapse near Dhaka.
Sixteen more bodies were recovered from the wreckage of Rana Plaza on Thursday as the 2nd phase of the rescue operation continued for the third consecutive day, raising the death toll in the country’s deadliest ever building collapse to 430.UNB
