Don't abandon us: Bangladeshis Bangladesh's poorest garment workers have pleaded with Australian companies to remain in the country, as retailers consider pulling orders from the beleaguered garment industry in the wake of the country's worst-ever industrial accident. Following the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in April, in which at least 1127 people died, international retailers have been belatedly assessing the safety of the factories they have contracted to make their brand-name clothes. Workers at Stitchwell Designs: The factory has lost its contract with Kmart. Kmart has already pulled orders from two factories in Dhaka, citing one factory's unsafe location above a marketplace and improper outsourcing at another. Big W has cancelled orders with a factory it says is unsafe, while Target plans to pull out of some of its 60 contracted factories, though it will remain in the country. Global giants Tesco, Wal-Mart and Disney have withdrawn orders. In more than a dozen interviews in Bangladesh's manufacturing hub of Dhaka, garment industry workers, labour activists, factory owners and suppliers have told Fairfax Media the livelihoods of millions are dependent upon foreign investment. "Countries like Australia should not abandon Bangladesh," said Forhad Mia, who earns $65 a month stitching shirts for Kmart. Those companies which have made money from the work of Bangladeshi people should help us to improve our industry, so we are safe, and we can be paid a wage so that we can live properly. Bangladesh's garment industry workers are some of the lowest-paid in the world. The minimum wage is $US37 ($40) a month. Many are employed in dangerous buildings at risk of collapse, with inadequate fire escapes, barred windows and poor ventilation. Overtime is often forced - and unpaid - and most stitchers work more than 70 hours a week. Australia's presence in Bangladesh's garment industry has grown exponentially over the past five years. Imports of Bangladeshi clothes have jumped almost 1700 per cent in that time, from $16 million in 2007 to $287 million in 2012. In the past full year of trade alone, 2011-2012, the value of Australian imports of Bangladeshi garments increased more than $100 million. Granted "least-developed-country" status in 2003, goods from Bangladesh attract no duty, giving its factories a competitive advantage over rivals in China. "Australian companies came to Bangladesh because the price here is the cheapest in the world, and they have made huge profits from Bangladeshi labour," president of the Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association Kazi Hossain said. But now, there are problems in our industry, and they, I feel, have a duty to improve it. They should stay in the country to assist the people, not abandon them. National Garment Workers Federation president Amirul Haque Amin said a boycott of Bangladesh would only hurt poor workers, with 5000 garment factories employing about 4 million people. Eighty per cent of those are women, most with little or no education, and who would not find work elsewhere. "The international companies should still come to Bangladesh to do business, but they must do business in a fair way, in an ethical way," Mr Amin said. It will make prices higher, but it will be fair for the workers of Bangladesh.