The 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, with a death toll exceeding 1,100, is considered the deadliest workplace disaster in modern history, and the deadliest garment factory catastrophe ever recorded. And while the ensuing decade has brought genuine efforts to prevent a repeat of that tragic event, the possibility of another major industrial accident looms large. 

Cracks in the Foundations 

Workers who showed up for their garment factory jobs at the plaza on April 24, 2013 were understandably nervous about how the day would play out. The day before, cracks had been discovered on the lower floors, leading to an evacuation of employees. 

When completed in 2006, the building consisted of just two stories, but the owner added six more and a two-ton generator on the roof. The structure housed multiple businesses, including clothing factories, a bank, apartments and small shops, many of which closed immediately after the structural damage was discovered.  

Not all those who worked at the plaza had the luxury of leaving, however, with many forced to return to work on April 24, either at the request of their superiors or because they needed the money. 

“The building started to shake, and cracks were found in the walls. Workers saw that and said, ‘It’s not safe.’ But the owner of the facility told them they had to go back to work, or they would lose their jobs,” explained Michael Posner, a professor of ethics and finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business, and former assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor during the Obama Administration. 

Shortly after the workday began, disaster struck. The eight-story building pancaked onto the 3,122 workers who were inside. By the time authorities called off the search for survivors in May, 2013, the dead numbered more than 1,100, plus 2,500 injured. One local resident said it felt like an earthquake had struck. 

It Could Happen Again 

And, according to Posner, a major factory collapse like Rana Plaza could happen again any time.  

“You certainly hope that this won’t happen again, but there’s every reason to be nervous about it,” said Posner. “It will most likely happen in places where the infrastructure and government regulations are weak, like India, Pakistan, Cambodia and Turkey.” 

Posner specifically mentioned Turkey because of the devastating earthquakes in the country that caused several buildings to collapse in February, 2023, revealing decades of shoddy building safety enforcement. 

“Any of those places, where the government is weak or there’s significant corruption, are at risk of a major industrial accident,” Posner said. “It may not be at the level of Rana Plaza, but there are a lot of unstable facilities in those countries.” 

International Brands Bear Responsibility 

In the case of Rana Plaza, Posner said much of the blame for the collapse naturally falls on owner Sohel Rana, who was arrested four days after the catastrophe took place. 

Rana was subcontracting out work to various factory owners who worked for major global brands. “The factory owner wasn’t paying enough attention to the safety of the building," Posner said. "He shouldn’t have said to people, ‘You better go back in, or you’ll lose your job,’ when factory workers approached him with their concerns. There’s no doubt that he bears some responsibility.” 

But Rana wasn’t the only culprit. Posner said some big-name companies must share the blame for the disaster. 

“You have a number of global brands that don’t pay attention to where their stuff is being produced as long as it’s done cheaply and on time,” he said. “You had The Children’s Place, Walmart, Joe Fresh, Mango and a number of other brands whose products were being produced at Rana Plaza, and they never even knew.” Posner contended that those brands bear responsibility for failing to enforce worker safety, and creating pricing pressures that caused their principal business partners to subcontract out to a place with unsafe conditions to save money.  

“Unfortunately, everybody bears some responsibility for this,” Posner said. 

Global brands and government agencies have taken a number of steps over the last 10 years to help revive Bangladesh’s garment industry in the wake of the tragedy. Such efforts helped the country to emerge as the second-largest global exporter of clothing in 2021 and 2022, behind only China. 

Global brands and retailers came together "in an unprecedented way" to inspect 2,500 factories and issue a list of all problems that needed to be addressed, Posner said. Local manufacturers fronted the money to pay for fixes, including installation of sprinkler systems and fire doors. "I give them credit," he said. "They have made progress on the safety issue.” 

Constant diligence is needed. Posner believes factory conditions worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to stringent cost-cutting by producers. He said it’s vital that companies uphold their commitment to worker safety even in tough economic times, and he has some ideas about how they can do that. 

A Need to Rethink Normal 

“We need to re-calibrate and ask, ‘What should normal look like?’ We shouldn’t view the pandemic as normal. That was an aberration,” Posner said. “We need to establish a better relationship between buyers and suppliers in these purchasing practices.” 

Ten years on from the Rana Plaza collapse, governmental bodies around the globe are taking on more responsibility for worker safety and corporate due diligence, increasing factory safety standards while encouraging greater supply chain visibility among multinationals. 

“Governments in industrial states are starting to make demands on their home industries,” Posner said. “I think we’re moving to a place where there’s more of a structure demanding that these relationships become codified and reported on. Over the next five to 10 years, we are going to see some real improvements because of that.”