Revisiting the Rana Plaza Collapse Tragedy in Bangladesh: A Study of Aftermath Cases from the Victims’ Perspectives

Abstract

The Rana Plaza (RP) collapse is considered one of the deadliest industrial disasters in the history, and it exposed critical ethical failures within the Readymade Garment (RMG) industry. This paper explores the tragedy through the theoretical lens of unethical business practices that contributed to the occurrence of such a disaster and increased the magnitude of the disaster. The present research, adopting a qualitative case study approach on the basis of secondary data, explores eight illustrative cases in order to look at the human, social, and economic impacts of the collapse. The findings detail how unethical practices, including violations of building codes, unsafe working conditions, and employee exploitation, resulted in immense human sufferings among vulnerable victims hailing from the poorest sections of Bangladesh. The study highlights specific gaps in organizational accountability and systemic failure within the rehabilitation process among survivors. This study identifies that unethical business practices lead to the RP tragedy and contributes to the literature on RMG industry, industrial hazards, and business ethics. Additionally, it offers actionable recommendations to promote ethical adherence and strengthen regulatory enforcement within the RMG industry. The urgency of taking proactive measures to prevent future disasters and ensure sustainable development through ethics-oriented business practices has been clearly underscored.

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