Twelve years after the Rana Plaza collapse that killed over 1,100 garment workers and injured thousands, justice remains elusive.
Despite the tragedy drawing global outrage and promises of legal accountability, proceedings in the 11 criminal labour cases filed by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) have yet to be resolved.
According to the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), four of these cases were at the arrest warrant stage on April 30, 2025, with the next hearing scheduled for May 29.
Seven other cases are at varying stages of delay. Four of these are awaiting public notice issuance, yet no new dates have been fixed.
The remaining three have reportedly been transferred to the 2nd Labour Court, but no case records are available in the court register.
Upon being notified, the court has assured that it will update the records promptly.
All eleven cases were originally under the jurisdiction of the 1st Labour Court but have since been moved to the 2nd Labour Court in Dhaka.
BLAST emphasized that responsible and timely media reporting can play a vital role in this regard.
