Dhaka Bangladesh (BBN) – A year after one of the deadliest industrial accidents in history, multinational clothing brands are failing to meet the US$40 million target to pay fair compensation to the victims of the Rana Plaza disaster.
More than 1,100 people were killed and a further 2,000 were injured when the eight-storey Rana Plaza garment factory building in the capital Dhaka collapsed on 24 April 2013.
Brand contributions to the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund remain woefully inadequate; so far only around US$15 million has been paid into the fund, established to give financial and medical support to the victims and their families consistent with guidelines set by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
“We urge all the brands that have been working in Bangladesh to contribute to the fund with a considerable sum. They share a collective responsibility for this profoundly unsustainable production model and its hazards. This model that we are now about to change,” Jyrki Raina, general secretary of the IndustriALL Global Union, said in a statement.
The Donors Trust Fund was established by the Rana Plaza Arrangement, a neutral and independent body of stakeholders, chaired by the ILO, to which IndustriALL is a signatory.
“The Rana Plaza disaster was a devastating wake up call for brands sourcing from garment factories in Bangladesh. One year on, IndustriALL, together with UNI Global Union and our partner NGOs, is fighting harder than ever to improve safety in the Bangladeshi garment industry, which has taken the lives of more than 1,800 workers in the last seven years,” Raina noted.
More than 160 brands have signed up to Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, a legally-binding agreement brokered by IndustriALL and UNI to improve safety conditions at 1600 factories, covering around 2.0 million workers.
By the end of September 2014, all factories producing garments for the Accord’s signatories will have been inspected and recommendations made for the repairs of dangerous factories.
UNI Global Union’s General Secretary, Philip Jennings said: “The Accord team on the ground are taking tough decisions. When work at a factory is suspended it can cause hardship to workers but there is no choice when we have another potential Rana Plaza on our hands.
BBN/SSR/AD-25Apr14-5:15 pm (BST)”
