1、A fire last month that killed some 300 trapped workers at a garment factory in Pakistans southern city of Karachi exposed serious flaws in the countrys industry regulations. It was one of the worst industry disasters in Pakistan, one in which most victims were trapped behind closed or blocked fire e
2、xits. Union members blame a culture of easy violation of health and safety laws.At the M.K. Sons factory in Faisalabad, which produces colorful printed fabrics for sale by U.S. retail giants like Walmart and Target, chief executive Rana Javed Akhtar insists that unlike the Karachi factory that burne
3、d down, his business is in line with international regulations.We have been audited by Walmart, Target, said Akhtar. They come for social compliance as well as the safety, and for that we also have to be complianced. All fire exits, fire extinguishers are in compliance with international standards.T
4、extile exports are a major foreign exchange earner for Pakistan. The industry employs almost 40 percent of the countrys workforce. Thats significant in a country whose economy is shaky.Union leader Zahoor Awan says the need for employment and corruption means many factory owners get away with provid
5、ing illegal wages and substandard working conditions.This compliance system has a lot of questions on their credibility, this is now being asked and that is correct, said Awan.But industry leaders in Pakistan say they have no problem abiding by workplace regulations.Ali Raza Kari, of Faisalabads BeB
6、eJan company, says acute electricity shortages and customers fear of terrorism will have a longer term impact on the industry and its workers.The point is that economic development and the corresponding prosperity are intertwined with political instability, Kari noted.Kari says it will be up to the business community here to work with the government to solve the industrys considerable challenges.
