Bangladesh: Pope Francis blasts 'slave conditions'

Pope Francis has launched a passionate attack on the "slave" conditions endured by the workers killed and injured in the recent collapse of a factory building in Bangladesh, where they made clothes for Western high street fashion stores.

More than 400 people were killed, up to 900 remain missing and are presumed dead, and dozens had limbs amputated after the eight-storey Rana Plaza, which contained five factories producing clothes for Primark, Monsoon, Matalan and Benetton, collapsed.

The scale of the deaths and injuries in Bangladesh's worst ever industrial accident has raised questions over the morality of ultra-cheap clothing in stores like UK's Primark and the poverty wages and poor working conditions which make them possible.

Yesterday, the new pope joined the debate with his strongest statement yet since his election as bishop of Rome in March.

According to Vatican Radio, he condemned the "selfish profit" motive of the companies whose search for low prices meant "slave conditions" in the factories.

"Today in the world this slavery is being committed against something beautiful that God has given us - the capacity to create, to work, to have dignity," he was quoted as saying in a private Mass to mark May Day, the international celebration of labour rights.

"How many brothers and sisters find themselves in this situation. Not paying fairly, not giving a job because you are only looking at balance sheets, only looking at how to make a profit. That goes against God," he said.

His outspoken comments came as thousands of workers and activists protested in Bangladesh at poor working conditions and called for the Rana Plaza owner to be executed for his alleged role in the collapse.

An estimated 20000 workers marched through Dhaka chanting "Hang the killers, Hang the factory owners" as factories throughout the country closed.

The Rana Plaza owner and some of the factory owners have been arrested after survivors said they had been forced to return to work despite an earlier evacuation and warnings from engineers that the structure could collapse at any time.

Some of the workers said they had been warned they would not receive back pay owed to them if they did not return to work.

An estimated 3500 workers were employed in the garment factories, with many of them earning as little as £32 a month - just over a pound a day.