It was a man-made disaster

Referring to the 2013 Rana Plaza tragedy, Bangladesh-born British MP Rushanara Ali has described what happened as “not an accident” but “a man-made disaster”.

She was speaking at a panel debate at the Houses of Parliament focused on improvements for women workers in the fashion industry, reports The Guardian.

The Labour MP directed the majority of her criticism towards fashion brands using factories and buildings such as Rana Plaza. “Considering the profits these companies are making, they are paying workers a pittance,” she said.

“We have to pay more, and brands have to pay more.” Despite “improvements”, workers in Bangladesh are paid less than $68 (£48) a month, less than half their counterparts in Vietnam, she said.