Bangladeshi garment workers fall ill as temperatures soar

In the factory where Aysha Talukder Tanisa stitches jeans and children's clothes for Western brands, the cooling system has been no match for Bangladesh's longest heatwave in 70 years.

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Temperatures soared to more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in late April, taking a particularly heavy toll on factory workers including most of Bangladesh's four million garment industry employees, 60% of whom are women.

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But keeping factories cool does not protect workers during their commutes, or at home, where many live in tiny, crowded houses with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities, said Guy Stuart, executive director of the Global Worker Dialogue (GWD) who runs regular surveys into workers' conditions.

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Nearly 19,000 people die every year due to workplace injuries attributed to excessive heat, and an estimated 26.2 million people are living with chronic kidney diseases linked to workplace heat stress, according to last month's report by the U.N.'s International Labour Organization (ILO).