Response by RINA
We invited RINA to respond the press release by ECCHR. RINA responded and sent us their press statement.
RINA conducted a two-stage audit of the Ali Enterprises premises according to SA8000, a voluntary standard for auditable third-party verification, that encourages organizations to develop a management system ensuring socially acceptable practices in the workplace. The audit was satisfactory. When RINA conducted the audit, the company was compliant with the SA8000 standard. Evidence collected following the fire would suggest that at the time of the fire the situation at Ali Enterprises was no longer in compliance with the SA8000 standard, as assessed by RINA two months prior to the incident...
Prior to the fire, Ali Enterprises held a SA8000 certificate for the plant in Baldia Town that had been issued by RINA Services...
Pictures taken after the fire, together with an analysis of the company’s actions prior to the fire, would appear to show a substantial difference between the conditions at the time of the fire when compared with the conditions at the time of audit, which occurred about two months prior...
After the event, RINA conducted an internal review together with the accreditation body, SAAS...
Following the Karachi fire, SAAS significantly revised the standard, fire safety in particular.
The fire at the Ali Enterprises has been, and still is, the subject of administrative and legal investigations.
Documents, including the audit report, cannot be released for legal reasons.