Protests continue in Bangladesh

There's been a second day of protests in Bangladesh over conditions in its clothing factories, after more than 100 workers burned to death in a fire at one. The Walmart supermarket chain has acknowledged that the victims may have produced clothing for its cut-price stores, against its regulations. A blaze this weekend ripped through a factory making shirts. Officials say at least 112 people died. Survivors said an exit door wouldn't open, and fire extinguishers were either missing or didn't work.

One survivor said she only escaped because others broke a window and hauled her through it. Cheap clothing is a huge industry in Bangladesh: accounting for 80 percent of the country's export earnings. But wages are low, and clothesmakers are banned from forming trade unions.

This factory was making T-shirts and polo shirts. Retail chain Walmart said one of its suppliers was using the factory, against Walmart regulations. European Union diplomats in Bangladesh reiterated EU calls for improved working conditions. And the United States ambassador said workers need better labour rights; it's in Bangladesh's interests to make improvements, he said, or global brands may move elsewhere. But one Bangladesh think tank is quoted accusing the clothing industry of hypocrisy.

The director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue said buyers talk about ethical sourcing, but then go to less compliant factories to get the lowest price. Meanwhile, human-rights lobby group Human Rights Watch said Bangladesh's factory owners are too close to the government. Until that changes, the group said, tragedies may happen again, and again.

Listen to the report by correspondent Alastair Wanklyn: