Corporations getting away with murder, says union on Bangladesh building collapse

OTTAWA, April 26, 2013 /CNW/ - "The photos of the factory building collapse in Bangladesh tell the story of corporate greed run amuck, says Dave Coles, president of Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. "This criminal disaster is the direct result of unregulated, free-market capitalism."

Coles says even the most basic of International Labour Organization standards have been violated and the retailers responsible should be condemned in the harshest terms and brought to swift justice."

"Multinationals have been allowed to get away with murder by hiding behind empty claims about building codes, auditing and monitoring systems," he adds.

CEP, which is the largest union in several key sectors of the Canadian economy, is calling on the ILO and all international global union federations, including IndustriAll which represents garment workers, to step up its fight to strengthen workers' health and safety rights in developing countries.

SOURCE: COMMUNICATIONS, ENERGY AND PAPERWORKERS UNION OF CANADA

Dave Coles - [phone]