NEWS report in a national English daily on Monday said the labour ministry has not approved the inclusion of its three employees in the charge sheet in a Rana Plaza collapse case outwardly blocking the formation of charges in the court to put them on trial. The report quoted the concerned official of the ministry while rejecting the request for approval to bring formal charges against them as saying that the charges are not criminal offences and the stance that the ministry has taken thus appears to many as giving them impunity from facing the accountability for neglect in duty to supervise the factory condition. Such failure led to the collapse of the faulty nine-storied building in Savar in April 2013 causing death to at least 1,136 people from the building collapse.
It was one of the biggest industrial tragedies in global scale raising outcry at home and abroad for punishing people responsible for the accident. The garment industry also came under immediate global pressure with stiff fall in buying orders and call for ensuring workers safety at work place. Two cases were also filed in this regard — one for violating the building code and the other for neglect of inspection duty that led to the loss of lives. A senior judicial magistrate of Dhaka sought the ministry’s permission early this month to include the names of three employees in the charge sheet. The ministry has turned down the request pointing out that there is no legal and factual reason to involve them in the murder case. But it is no doubt defying normal investigation and course of normal justice.
A Supreme Court lawyer who is also the editor of Dhaka Law Report has reportedly rejected the argument saying the ministry has no jurisdiction to say its officials have not committed any criminal offence. It is the court that will determine whether the employees have committed the offences.
A Dhaka Court last week rejected bail to the owner of Rana Plaza and fixed hearing by the end of this month for framing of charges against him and 40 others. But the labour ministry is not making available its employees suspected to be involved to face trial. But the disturbing thing is that it wants to keep itself on the safe side.
It is a common complaint that the labour ministry does not take any responsibility for the wrongs in the industrial sector. Many agree that the labour ministry is useless for ensuring safety and security of workers or containing labour unrest.
