Pakistan’s garment and textile workers work under unsafe conditions.

Deadly safety violations persist in factories supplying H&M, C&A, Bestseller, and Zara. There are still no binding agreements in place between apparel brands and labor unions to keep workers safe.

Factories have no fire-rated stairwells or exits. Explosions happen and workers are exposed to electrical discharge and harmful substances. Gas leaks happen. In the past 18 months alone there have been over 30 serious safety incidents in garment and textile factories in Pakistan. Over a dozen people have died and more have been injured. And yet the true extent of the safety violations in factories remains unknown.Ten years ago more than 250 people died in a factory fire in Pakistan – the deadliest factory fire ever in the global garment industry. Ironically the factory was audited as safe only a few weeks before the devastating fire.

The brands which have been named above are accused of delaying the implementation of the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry. Bringing factories under the program can ensure credible, independent inspections, remediation, safety training, and a complaint mechanism to keep workers safe.

So Pakistan’s garment and textile workers remain in the exact same unsafe conditions that led to the horrific disaster a decade ago.