(CNN) -- Bangladesh's prime minister acknowledged Thursday that her nation's garment industry is beset with problems, but said her government is moving rapidly to fix them.
"Bangladesh now is a place for good conditions for the investment," Sheikh Hasina told CNN's Christiane Amanpour eight days after a nine-story building collapsed on the outskirts of Dhaka, killing at least 437 people, most of them garment workers. She said 2,437 survivors were pulled from the rubble, where recovery work was continuing.
"Yes, there are some problems," she said, but added that a committee has been formed to ensure the safety of buildings and workers.
"This committee will submit the findings to the Cabinet committee and, side by side, we have been trying our best to improve the situation."
Workers continue rescue and recovery operations 12 days after the Rana Plaza building collapsed, in Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. More than 700 people died when the Rana Plaza, which housed garment factories and shops, collapsed on April 24. Workers continue to find bodies, many of them decomposed and difficult to recognize.
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Hasina expressed little fear that international companies would stop doing business in Bangladesh as a result of the disaster. Investors have tapped into the Bangladeshi market not just because of its high-quality workers, she said. "They get cheap labor," she said. "That's why they come here."
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But at least one company has pulled out of Bangladesh, citing a spate of fatal factory accidents.
The Walt Disney Company sent a letter in March to vendors and licensees to transition production out of the "highest-risk countries," such as Bangladesh, in order to bolster safety standards in its supply chain.
Disney will halt production in four other countries: Ecuador, Venezuela, Belarus and Pakistan, by April 2014.
The decision was made before last week's building collapse. It was prompted by the November fire at the Tazreen Fashions Factory in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka that killed 112 people, and another fire in Pakistan that killed 262 garment workers last September.
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Asked about reports that only 18 inspectors are responsible for overseeing safety conditions in more than 100,000 garment factories in and around the capital city, Hasina said, "We don't depend on only ... those inspectors."
Steps to improve conditions were taken before the collapse of the building in Rana Plaza in Savar, she said, citing passage by the Cabinet of a labor law that will be sent to Parliament.
Hasina noted that workplace disasters have occurred in the United States, too; she cited last month's explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, in which 14 people died.
"Anywhere in the world, any accident can take place," she said. "You cannot predict anything."
Amanpour, CNN's chief international correspondent, pointed out that local officials predicted that the building could collapse after cracks appeared on its walls on April 23, and they urged workers not to re-enter it.
"You are very correct," Hasina said. "Unfortunately, in the morning, the owners of the factories put pressure to labor to enter."
She praised government officials for trying to prevent the workers at the five garment factories in the building from re-entering it on April 24, the morning of the collapse. "It is not true that the government hasn't taken any steps," she said.
She blamed the owners of the five factories as well as Sohel Rana, the building's owner, and disputed the suggestion that their political connections could protect them.
Rana is under police investigation in relation to the deaths and has had his assets seized. Protesters have called for him to be hanged.
"The law will take its own course," she said. "Criminal is criminal. They will get all the necessary action; that we can assure you. It is our promise to the people."
Hasina added, "Any business person, if they commit any kind of crime, our government always takes action."
She pointed to the companies that source their products from such factories, saying they should pay well enough that factory owners can pay good salaries and ensure the business is safely run. "They're partly responsible for it," she said.
And she urged that the disaster be considered in context. "You cannot blame the whole business or whole industry just for one incident," she said.
Hasina said officials in her government "are in favor of labor," having increased the minimum wage by 82%, built dormitories and seen to the health care needs of workers.
She denied that the killing last year of a labor leader signified that her government is hostile toward unions. Aminul Islam's body, bearing signs of torture, was found four days after he disappeared in April 2012.
"Nobody knew that he was a labor leader," she said. It was only after his body was found, she said, "that we came to know that he was a labor leader and he was assassinated."
More than a year later, she said, the case remains under investigation.
The interview was carried out via satellite by Amanpour in New York and the prime minister in Dhaka. CNN has been unable to gain visas from the Bangladeshi government that would allow the network to send reporters to cover the country first-hand.
That assertion was corroborated by a CNN executive, but the prime minister disputed it. "It is not true," Hasina said. "We never stop any media to come to Bangladesh."
Asked about restrictions on coverage imposed by the visa office, she said, "Every country has these rules and regulations."
Thursday's interview came as activity resumed at thousands of Bangladeshi textile factories.
Millions of workers in and around the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, returned to duty after the trade group that represents the garment industry decided it was safe to do so.
This week, a delegation of the International Labour Organization arrived in Dhaka on a four-day visit to Bangladesh.
"Horror and regret must translate into urgent firm action," said Guy Ryder, the organization's director-general. "Action now can prevent further tragedy. Inaction would mean that the next tragedy is simply a matter of time."
The incident has provoked widespread protests, including attacks on some textile facilities the demonstrators said are unsafe.
The garment industry accounts for 77% of Bangladesh's exports -- a $20 billion industry for the nation.
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Rescue workers recover a body from the rubble on May 7, 2013.
Relatives place a body in the back of a truck on May 7, 2013.
A woman attempts to identify one of the bodies kept in a schoolyard on May 7, 2013.
Members of the Bangladeshi army and firefighters carry the body of a garment worker from the scene of the building collapse in Savar, outside Dhaka, on Sunday, May 5.
A woman holds a portrait of her missing relative as she sleeps on Saturday, May 4.
Relatives attempt to identify the bodies of loved ones on May 4.
Rescue workers dig out debris from the Rana Plaza building as Bangladeshi army personnel continue the second phase of a rescue operation using heavy equipment on Friday, May 3.
A woman reacts on May 3 after identifying a body found in the rubble.
A man stands amid the destruction as rescue and army personnel continue recovery operations on May 3.
A woman holds up a picture of a missing person believed to be trapped in the rubble on May 3.
A garment worker rescued from the wreckage of the Rana Plaza building lies in a hospital in Dhaka on Thursday, May 2.
A woman weeps after identifying her daughter's body in the rubble in Savar on May 2.
Rescue workers move debris as Bangladeshi army personnel continue the second phase of a rescue operation at the site of the collapsed building in Savar on May 2.
A woman mourns before a mass burial in Dhaka on Wednesday, May 1.
Unidentified bodies from the rubble lie on the ground as people gather for a mass burial in Dhaka on May 1.
Workers dig graves during a mass burial of unidentified garment workers on May 1.
Sohel Rana, owner of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, wears police-issued body armor and a helmet while being escorted to court in Dhaka on Tuesday, April 30. Rana was arrested near the Indian border, and protesters called for him to be hanged.
Bangladeshi troops carry the body of a garment worker out of the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building in Savar on April 30.
Clothing with Joe Fresh labels lies in the debris on April 30.
Cranes operated by Bangladeshi army personnel work on Monday, April 29.
Firefighters try to control a blaze that started while they were trying to rescue a woman with heavy equipment on April 29.
Bangladeshi army personnel begin the second phase of the rescue operation using heavy equipment on April 29.
Rescuers look for survivors on Sunday, April 28. The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society says the chances of finding anyone alive in the rubble at this date are remote.
A woman mourns on April 28 at the site of the building collapse in Savar.
Rescue workers search for survivors on April 28.
Volunteers sleep before they begin more rescue operations on April 28.
Rescue workers carry a victim's body recovered from the rubble on April 28.
Clothes lie in the rubble on Saturday, April 27.
An arrested owner of a garment factory is escorted to an appearance at the court in Dhaka on April 27. Four people were arrested and four others are being questioned by police.
Relatives hold photos of missing and dead workers outside the factory April 27.
Two Bangladeshi women look at a board with notices posted of missing and dead workers on April 27.
Bangladeshi relatives and workers load a body onto a truck on April 27.
An excavator operated by the Bangladeshi Army removes debris on April 26.
Volunteers and rescue workers conduct rescue operations on April 26.
Rescue workers use textile as a slide to move bodies out of the rubble on April 26.
Rescue workers look for trapped garment workers on April 26.
Rescue workers stand on the rubble of the collapsed building on April 26.
Rescue workers search the rubble for victims and survivors on April 26.
A rescue worker looks for trapped workers on April 26.
Bangladeshi army personnel recover a survivor from rubble on April 26, 48 hours after the collapse.
Volunteers and rescue workers assist in rescue operations on April 26.
A physician assists a survivor after he was recovered from the rubble on April 26.
People rescue garment workers trapped at a building outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Thursday, April 25.
A Bangladeshi woman shows a picture of her missing daughter-in-law she believes is trapped in the collapsed building on April 25.
Bangladeshi firefighters cut a hole through concrete during rescue operations on April 25 in Savar, a suburb of Dhaka.
Volunteers and rescue workers work at the scene on April 25.
A woman appears devastated on April 25 after identifying the body of her husband killed in the building collapse.
Bangladeshi garment workers help evacuate a survivor by using a roll of fabric on April 24.
People rescue garment workers on Wednesday, April 24, after the building caved in, leaving a chaotic mass of broken concrete and twisted metal.
Relatives who lost a brother mourn outside a hospital on April 24.
Rescuers help an injured garment worker to escape from the Rana Plaza building on the outskirts of Dhaka on April 24.
Civilians help an injured garment worker on April 24. Work was proceeding slowly to avoid causing further collapse, an official said.
Rescue workers search for trapped garment workers in the Rana Plaza building on April 24.
An injured Bangladeshi lies on the hospital floor on April 24.
The injured receive treatment at a hospital on April 24.
An injured person rests in a hospital bed on April 24.
People wait anxiously on April 24 while rescuers search for survivors.
Rescuers help an injured person out of the seventh floor on April 24.
Civilians help out in rescue efforts at the collapsed building on April 24.
Hundreds watch the rescue operations on April 24.
People search for garment workers trapped under the debris on April 24.
Rescuers help an injured worker on April 24.
A body is trapped under the damaged building on April 24.
A woman is carried away from the building on April 24.
A rescue worker carries a worker to an ambulance on April 24.
Crowds gather around the collapsed building on April 24.
Rescuers bring out an injured garment worker from the building's sixth floor.
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