A week after the nation's worst garment factory fire left 110 workers dead, Bangladeshis are starting to return to work in factories contracted by big-name foreign clothing companies.

At an annual worth of $20bn, the garment industry makes up 80 per cent of the country's economy.

The fire service is now checking all 4,000 factories in the nation to ensure safety.

Despite the risks, the three-and-a-half million people who work in the industry, many of whom had held protests following the fire, are slowly returning to work because they rely on the $43 a month they are often paid.

Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque reports from Ashulia.