Death of 28 people in a clandestine textile workshop in Tangier (Morocco)

Question for written answer  E-001161/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Idoia Villanueva Ruiz (The Left)

On 9 February, 19 women and 9 men died in a clandestine textile workshop in Tangier (Morocco) after torrential rains caused an electrical short circuit. The incident is being investigated. Morocco, and especially Tangier, is an important centre of subcontracted sewing and garment production for Spain and other parts of Europe. According to a SETEM survey, almost half of those surveyed worked more than 55 hours a week for monthly wages of around 250 euros, 70% had no employment contract and 88% said they did not enjoy trade union freedoms.

• 1.Has the Commission launched an investigation into the involvement of European companies in the accident in Tangier?
• 2.What is its position on the over-exploitation of workers and trade union persecution in these clandestine workshops in Morocco, a country with which it has an Association Agreement, and what mechanisms does it use to ensure that Spanish and European companies which receive orders from Morocco follow the Commission’s sectoral guidelines on the application of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights?
• 3.What policies has it implemented to ensure that disasters such as the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh in 2013 do not happen again?