Tazreen, Rana Plaza Victims
CCC, brands sit in Geneva Sept 11-12 to set compensation
Clean Clothes Campaign and IndustriALL Global Union, the two largest global alliances of labour unions in the clothing sector, are going to sit with all the brands that were linked to the Tazreen and Rana Plaza factories on September 11 and 12 to fix the compensation package for the victims. Representatives of the Bangladesh government and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exports Association have also been invited to attend the meeting to be facilitated by International Labour Organisation as a neutral and independent chair, the CCC said in a statement.
The Tazreen fire killed at least 112 RMG workers on November 24 last year and the Rana Plaza building collapse killed at least 1,133 workers on April 24.
‘A small amount of compensation has been paid to the victims in both cases which is insufficient and the information on who has received what is uncoordinated and lacking in transparency,’ the CCC said on its website.
The CCC expects the brands to make commitments to paying compensation and to collectively develop a mechanism with other stakeholders that will ensure the money is transparently distributed, so as to ensure the people affected can restart their lives, the statement said.
The CCC estimated long-term compensation for Rana Plaza victims will be more than 54 million Euros (71 million USD) and for Tazreen this is at least 4.3 million Euros (5.7 million USD).
These figures include compensation for pain and sufferings, as well as long-term loss of earnings for families of deceased workers, and injured workers unable to return to work, as per the statement of the CCC.
These figures are likely to increase once medical costs for the physically injured workers, psychological support for all workers or their families and payments for lost wages and legal severance payments are calculated, the alliance of labour unions said.
The Clean Clothes Campaign said that they were increasing pressure on Benetton, Mango and other fashion brands to pay full and fair compensation to victims of the Tazreen fire and Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh.
-With New Age input
