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Pakistan's shame where life comes cheap
The Karachi textile factory in which a fire killed more than 250 people this week had been running illegally for more than a decade, in full view of the law.
The four-storey building was built in defiance of local building codes, and none of Ali Enterprises' workers had appointment letters, or had their employment registered with the state government, as required.
It's alleged no inspector from the labour department had ever visited.
Fires, it seems, were not uncommon. Local reports suggest the factory had had four fires in the past two years, including a small blaze the day before the inferno that consumed the building.
Inside the factory, which was crowded with merchandise and materials, employees sat sewing jeans and shirts for export to Britain, the US and Europe. When busy, like this week, it ran 24 hours a day, in three shifts of eight hours. Workers earned about 8000 Pakistani Rupees a month, about $80.
Just after 6pm on Tuesday there were about 700 people in the building. It was almost time to change shift, and some who were not working had come to collect their wages.
The fire began when the electricity cut out, as it does often in Karachi, and a back-up generator failed to start.
A blast was heard from the generator and smoke quickly began to fill all three floors. A fireball raced up the only staircase in the middle of the building. For most, there was nowhere to run.
On the upper floors, there were no fire escapes, and all exit doors were locked (a common practice to stop workers leaving before the end of their shift, or stealing merchandise). There were no sprinklers or fire extinguishers.
The windows were covered with metal grilles. Workers threw sewing machines at the bars to break them. Those who could get out, jumped from the upper storeys. But many couldn't break through. More than 50 bodies have been recovered from next to the factory's windows.
On the ground floor, the only unlocked exit was piled with merchandise waiting to be shipped overseas. Other workers were trapped in the basement, where they made calls to loved ones, pleading for help or saying goodbye. The final death toll is unclear, but authorities put it at 258 on Thursday, revised down from nearly 300.
The fire has raised broader concerns about the working conditions of Pakistan's urban poor. Karachi alone has 12,000 factories, many of them operating illegally, under no government oversight.
Unions are pitifully weak, and the compulsory inspections of factories by the labour department ended in 1997 after influential industrialist owners pressured the government to call them off.
The Ali Enterprises factory, despite being illegal in almost every way, operated without hindrance in full view of the law. The factory's major owner is a former doctor, Shahid Bhaila, who gave up medicine to pursue his business interests. A substantial exporter of garments, he has since been placed on an exit control list, forbidding him from leaving the country. Calls from the Herald to his office went unanswered. Murder charges have been registered against Bhaila and the other owners, but there are reports he has already left the country.
The deputy general secretary of the National Trade Union Federation, Nasir Mansoor, said the government officials who allowed Ali Enterprises to operate should also face criminal charges.
''Murder cases should be registered against the labour minister and secretary and the industries minister for criminal negligence on their part in this tragedy,'' he said. Decades of lax regulation and blatant corruption had allowed factories such as Ali Enterprises to flourish.
''Due to the criminal negligence of the labour department, factories have become death-traps for the workers.''
The problem is not uniquely Pakistani. Last week in Tamil Nadu, in southern India, a blaze in a fireworks factory killed 40 and injured more than 60. Twelve people have been arrested.
Garment manufacture is Bangladesh's largest industry, accounting for more than 80 per cent of exports. But International Labor Rights Forum figures show nearly 500 Bangladeshi garment workers have died in preventable factory fires in the past five years.
Across Pakistan, newspaper editorials lashed the government's inaction.
''Factories in Pakistan are kingdoms unto themselves. They are concentration camps where workers are denied their basic rights,'' Dawn said. The News International said: ''Life is cheap, and the lamentable standard of health and safety at work practices is reflective of this.''
''There must be a rigorous application of the law via a system of inspections proofed against corruption and political interference.''
By Thursday, no fewer than six inquiries had been ordered into the Karachi blaze.
The secretary of labour for Sindh has ordered an investigation, as has the Commissioner of Karachi, the Chief Minister of Sindh, and the police chief.
President Asif Ali Zardari has ordered his own investigation, and the chief justice of the Sindh High Court has ordered reports from government agencies and police.
With Khudayar Khan, agencies
The Karachi textile factory in which a fire killed more than 250 people this week had been running illegally for more than a decade, in full view of the law.
The four-storey building was built in defiance of local building codes, and none of Ali Enterprises' workers had appointment letters, or had their employment registered with the state government, as required.
It's alleged no inspector from the labour department had ever visited.
Fires, it seems, were not uncommon. Local reports suggest the factory had had four fires in the past two years, including a small blaze the day before the inferno that consumed the building.
Inside the factory, which was crowded with merchandise and materials, employees sat sewing jeans and shirts for export to Britain, the US and Europe. When busy, like this week, it ran 24 hours a day, in three shifts of eight hours. Workers earned about 8000 Pakistani Rupees a month, about $80.
Just after 6pm on Tuesday there were about 700 people in the building. It was almost time to change shift, and some who were not working had come to collect their wages.
The fire began when the electricity cut out, as it does often in Karachi, and a back-up generator failed to start.
A blast was heard from the generator and smoke quickly began to fill all three floors. A fireball raced up the only staircase in the middle of the building. For most, there was nowhere to run.
On the upper floors, there were no fire escapes, and all exit doors were locked (a common practice to stop workers leaving before the end of their shift, or stealing merchandise). There were no sprinklers or fire extinguishers.
The windows were covered with metal grilles. Workers threw sewing machines at the bars to break them. Those who could get out, jumped from the upper storeys. But many couldn't break through. More than 50 bodies have been recovered from next to the factory's windows.
On the ground floor, the only unlocked exit was piled with merchandise waiting to be shipped overseas. Other workers were trapped in the basement, where they made calls to loved ones, pleading for help or saying goodbye. The final death toll is unclear, but authorities put it at 258 on Thursday, revised down from nearly 300.
The fire has raised broader concerns about the working conditions of Pakistan's urban poor. Karachi alone has 12,000 factories, many of them operating illegally, under no government oversight.
Unions are pitifully weak, and the compulsory inspections of factories by the labour department ended in 1997 after influential industrialist owners pressured the government to call them off.
The Ali Enterprises factory, despite being illegal in almost every way, operated without hindrance in full view of the law. The factory's major owner is a former doctor, Shahid Bhaila, who gave up medicine to pursue his business interests. A substantial exporter of garments, he has since been placed on an exit control list, forbidding him from leaving the country. Calls from the Herald to his office went unanswered. Murder charges have been registered against Bhaila and the other owners, but there are reports he has already left the country.
The deputy general secretary of the National Trade Union Federation, Nasir Mansoor, said the government officials who allowed Ali Enterprises to operate should also face criminal charges.
''Murder cases should be registered against the labour minister and secretary and the industries minister for criminal negligence on their part in this tragedy,'' he said. Decades of lax regulation and blatant corruption had allowed factories such as Ali Enterprises to flourish.
''Due to the criminal negligence of the labour department, factories have become death-traps for the workers.''
The problem is not uniquely Pakistani. Last week in Tamil Nadu, in southern India, a blaze in a fireworks factory killed 40 and injured more than 60. Twelve people have been arrested.
Garment manufacture is Bangladesh's largest industry, accounting for more than 80 per cent of exports. But International Labor Rights Forum figures show nearly 500 Bangladeshi garment workers have died in preventable factory fires in the past five years.
Across Pakistan, newspaper editorials lashed the government's inaction.
''Factories in Pakistan are kingdoms unto themselves. They are concentration camps where workers are denied their basic rights,'' Dawn said. The News International said: ''Life is cheap, and the lamentable standard of health and safety at work practices is reflective of this.''
''There must be a rigorous application of the law via a system of inspections proofed against corruption and political interference.''
By Thursday, no fewer than six inquiries had been ordered into the Karachi blaze.
The secretary of labour for Sindh has ordered an investigation, as has the Commissioner of Karachi, the Chief Minister of Sindh, and the police chief.
President Asif Ali Zardari has ordered his own investigation, and the chief justice of the Sindh High Court has ordered reports from government agencies and police.
With Khudayar Khan, agencies
