Pressemeldungen - Unternehmensverantwortung & Lieferkettengesetz

Anniversary of the factory fire at KiK suppliers in Pakistan

Complaint against Italian testing service provider RINA, which issued a certificate to the factory despite safety deficiencies.

Rome. More than 250 people died, more than 30 were injured when the Ali Enterprise textile factory in Karachi, Pakistan, completely burned down on September 11, 2012. The factory mainly produced for the German company KiK. On the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the factory fire, eight human rights and consumer organisations(1) submitted an OECD complaint against RINA Services S.p.A. of Genoa to the Italian Ministry of Economic Development. The reason: Just three weeks before the fire, RINA had awarded the textile factory the international SA8000 certificate – a certificate that guarantees high safety standards. If RINA had done its job properly, the deaths of hundreds of people could have been prevented. This is now to be investigated by the OECD contact point in Italy.

"My son died like hundreds of other workers because the burning factory became a trap. The fire detection system did not work properly, fire extinguishers and escape routes were blocked or simply not present," says Saeeda Khatoon, chairwoman of the Ali Enterprises Factory Fire Affectees Association, the survivors' and survivors' self-help organisation. The high number of deaths shows that the certification process ignored important safety issues.

"The failure of RINA to detect serious deficiencies in fire protection and escape routes shows once again that the system of audits and certifications does not benefit workers. We have also experienced serious audit deficits in the case of the collapse of Rana Plaza (Bangladesh). Audit reports need to be published and audit service providers need to be held accountable," says Gisela Burckhardt of the Clean Clothes Campaign.

As RINA is based in Italy, the complaint is submitted by the eight organisations to the Italian contact point of the OECD.

Kopen: FEMNET/CCC: Gisela Burckhardt, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +49 228 94499762

(1) The coalition includes the following organisations:

Ali Enterprises Factory Fire Affectees Association (AEFFAA), Pakistan
National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), Pakistan
Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Pakistan
European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR),
Germany Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), international (Netherlands, Germany, Italy)
Campagna Abiti Puliti, Movimento Consumatori, Italy
medico international, Germany

More information on the complaint against TÜV Rheinland: