Compensation For Rana Plaza Victims
Owners can’t pay Tk 19.51 lakh to each: BGMEA
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association opposed Tk 19.51 lakh compensation package for each dead or disabled Rana Plaza worker saying the garments owners are not lawfully responsible to compensate at such high amount. The trade body recently submitted a written opinion to the sub-committee on fixation of compensation demanding to re-fix a ‘logical amount’ of compensation considering the exiting laws and ability of the owners.
On November 21, the sub-committee discussed on the papers at a meeting presided over by Dhaka University economics teacher MM Akash.
The BGMEA additional secretary Md Zaglul Hayder and the representative of the nine infantry division Colonel Rafiqul Islam also attended the meeting.
The head of the sub-committee MM Akash told New Age that the process of the fixation of compensation for the Rana Plaza victims would be finalised by November.
He did not make any comment on the opinion of the BGMEA over the compensation which was submitted to the sub-committee.
The BGMEA demanded that the owners of the five garment factories housed in Rana Plaza are not liable
for the accident and death of the workers as the building collapse did not take place due any lapse on the part of the factory owners.
The BGMEA paper said that the Fatal Accidents Act-1955 would not be applicable to fix compensation in this case as the death of workers was not caused by any wrongful act, negligence or default of the owners.
Although the BGMEA claimed that the factory owners were not responsible for the building collapse and death of the workers, the trade body on June 26 had said in its probe report that factory owners could not avoid the responsibility of the tragic incident and death of workers.
The BGMEA had also suggested in its probe report to bring the factory owners under a legal framework for opening factories even after BGMEA warned not to open the factories after the building developed cracks.
On the morning of April 24, the eight-storey Rana Plaza in Savar, which housed five clothing factories, a shopping mall and a bank, collapsed, leaving at least 1,133 people dead and about 2,000 injured.
After the disaster, a High Court bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarker suo moto instituted a committee composed of the nine infantry division’s GOC and other agencies concerned to fix the amount of compensation.
The committee on August 29 in its first meeting instituted two sub-committees – one led by economist MM Akash to fix the compensation and the other by the director of the directorate general of health services, professor ABM Abdul Hannan, to consider physical condition of the injured.
On November 7, the committee in its third meeting at Savar set Tk 19.51 lakh as compensation to be paid to the families of each of the deceased or disabled worker.
The committee fixed compensation of Tk 10 lakh each for those who lost one limb and Tk 6 lakh each who need treatment for long.
The BGMEA said in its opinion that the relatives of the deceased workers of the five garments housed in the Rana Plaza will get money for life insurance and will get Tk one lakh only as compensation as per the labour law.
‘According to the law, owners are not responsible to pay any additional amount as compensation,’ the BGMEA said in its paper.
Besides showing law as an excuse, the trade body also said that if the compensation fixed at a big amount many owners would not be able to pay the amount and many entrepreneurs will be discouraged to set up new factories in the garment sector.
Referring to the amount of compensation that had been paid in the earlier cases, including Tazreem Fashions Fire, the BGMEA urged the committee to set a lower amount of compensation.
On September 30, at the second meeting of the committee, the BGMEA proposed Tk 7 lakh as compensation for each deceased worker and Tk one lakh for each injured worker.
The BGMEA joint secretary Rafiqul Islam told New Age that they have prepared their opinion according to the law.
‘We only conveyed our massage to the compensation fixation committee that the owners are bound to pay compensation as per the law but have no legal bindings to pay any additional amount,’ he said.
A source involved with the process said that the decision on the compensation will be approved shortly through signature of the committee members and then it would be sent to the High Court.
-With New Age input
