Tazreen, Rana Plaza Victims’ Compensation
IndustriALL, retailers meet postponed
Two meetings between labour rights group IndustriALL and international retailers over compensation to the victims of Tazreen Fashions and Rana Plaza tragedies and their families, which were scheduled to be held in Dhaka on August 11 and 12, have now been deferred to September.
Although no date was announced, IndustriALL has said that the meetings, aimed to put together a full and fair compensation package for all the victims and their families, will now be held in Geneva, Switzerland.
‘With the sudden illness of a key union official and a strike threat in Bangladesh, we feel that the meetings will be more fruitful at a later date,’ IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina said in a press release on August 9.
It has also estimated long-term compensation for the Rana Plaza victims, which come to more than 54 million euros ($71 million). While for Tazreen victims it has earmarked 4.3 million euros ($5.7 million).
The figures were fixed keeping in mind compensation for pain and sufferings, as well as long-term loss of earnings for families of the deceased workers, and those injured not able to return to work.
It did not include medical costs for the injured workers, psychological support to all workers or their families involved in the accidents, or payment of wages and legal severance payments to the Tazreen and Rana Plaza garments’ workers that lost their jobs.
‘Responsibility is shared between the brands and retailers sourcing from Tazreen and Rana Plaza, the factory owners, the BGMEA and the Bangladeshi government,’ the release said.
-With New Age input
