The tragedy, the deadliest incident in the history of the garment industry, came just months after a fire in another garment factory in Bangladesh in November killed 112 workers.
The agreement, drafted by the U.S.-based International Labor Rights Forum and labor groups in Bangladesh in the aftermath of a deadly fire in a garment factory in Dhaka in December 2010, has so far failed to get the support of most big-brand foreign clothing companies.
WSJ: Bangladesh Factory Lacked Building Permits, Officials Say
The November fire at the Tazreen garment factory drew international attention to the conditions workers toil under in Bangladesh's textile industry.
Government officials, labor activists, manufacturers and retailers all called for improved safety standards after a November garment factory fire in the same suburb, when locked emergency exits trapped hundreds of workers inside and 112 people died.
Early Thursday, eight people died in a garment-factory fire in Bangladesh's capital, according to local fire-service officials.
Bangladesh has gotten off the economic mat in recent years with a big push into cheap apparel, a mixed blessing whose downside was horribly brought home in November when a Dhaka garment factory caught fire with 112 workers trapped to die inside.
The Tung Hai fire was the fourth disaster involving a Bangladeshi garment factory since November, when more than 100 people died in a fire at Tazreen Fashions Ltd. outside Dhaka.
It calls for the appointment of a safety chief to inspect Bangladesh's 5, 000 garment factories and establishes fire-safety training for workers.
In a separate development, the overnight fire at the 11-storey garment factory in Dhaka's Mirpur district killed at least eight people.
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The fire was Bangladesh's fourth major garment factory-related disaster since November.
The fire is Bangladesh's fourth major garment factory-related disaster since December.
The disaster is the worst ever for Bangladesh's booming and powerful garment industry, surpassing a fire five months ago that killed 112 people and brought widespread pledges to improve the country's worker-safety standards.
Fires caused by short circuits and sub-standard electrical wiring are common in Bangladeshi garment factories, which often have inadequate fire escapes.
Wal-Mart will also set up an independent call center for garment workers to report unsafe conditions and conduct fire safety training for every worker in the Bangladesh factories that make clothes for the U.S. retailing giant.
In March, the ministry of labor and employment, along with international labor unions and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, adopted a national action plan on fire safety for the industry.
WSJ: Bangladesh Factory Lacked Building Permits, Officials Say
In March, Bangladesh's ministry of labor and employment, along with international labor unions and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, adopted a national action plan on fire safety for the industry.
In March, the nation's ministry of labor and employment, along with international labor unions and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, adopted a national action plan on fire safety for the industry.
The country's powerful garment industry has been plagued by a series of disasters in recent months, including a November fire at the Tazreen factory that killed 112 and the building collapse.
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