EU to promote global cooperation to improve safety of workers

One year ago, the world was shocked by the tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh where more than 1100 people lost their lives in this terrible accident and thousands more were injured, said EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Laszlo Andor, in a statement today. One year later, many victims are still struggling with long-term injuries and waiting for compensation from the trust fund established to support them, he noted. "The Commission is fully committed to continue to work to make workplaces safer and to increase respect for rights at work. Together with our G20 partners, we will increase our efforts to significantly reduce the number of workers who die and suffer serious injuries each day worldwide, as well as to improve working conditions in global supply chains," said the statement. On 28 April, the EU is hosting a conference in Brussels to discuss how the EU promotes decent working conditions at the global level in its relations with partner countries and regions, including rights at work and other international labour standards