(Glasgow North West) (SNP):
This week is the 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster,
where 1,138 garment workers in Bangladesh were
killed when the factory collapsed. Union workers had to dig
through the rubble to find out what labels were involved, and it
was found that brands sourced in UK shops such as Primark, Mango,
Matalan and Benetton were but some of them. Many countries are
moving to a situation where companies have responsibility for
supply chains, so may we have a debate in Government time about
the need for legislation to introduce strong legal frameworks for
corporate accountability?
: I thank the hon. Lady for
bringing to our attention the 10th anniversary of that terrible
and sad event. She will know that the Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Office has done a huge amount of work to ensure that
the likelihood of such events happening again is reduced by
having good practices in garment factories across countries that
we work with. We have also worked with the UN to introduce a
number of measures to strengthen transparency in supply chains,
but she is absolutely right: there has to be accountability for
that. The Foreign Secretary is sitting on the Front Bench, but I
will also ensure that the Department for Business and Trade is
focused on the issues that she raises.
