Primark has completed paying over 95 percent of long-term compensations to 668 Rana Plaza disaster victims, who were workers of New Wave Bottoms, a supplier of the British retailer. The retailer made the payments through Brac Bank and bKash to the family members of the dead and injured workers of New Wave Bottoms, Primark said in a statement yesterday. “There are a very small number of claimants yet to receive compensation because either the individuals require a high level of support and/ or the victims and/or their dependants have only very recently come forward,” Primark said. “This approach to compensation involved medical and vulnerability assessments.” Payments have been made according to the impact of the injury and the level of disability. In the case of the dependents of the deceased and missing workers, it was according to actuarial estimates of lost earnings, Primark said. The process has taken time to complete because the company was determined that its approach to compensation should be as fair, rigorous and as sustainable as possible, according to Primark. “The company is supporting victims, or their dependants, in the handful of cases where final payments remain outstanding.” Primark’s total aid stands at $14 million. The company has additionally made a payment of $1 million to the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund, chaired by the International Labour Organisation, for distribution to workers in its competitors’ supply chain, according to the statement. Primark has signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, which is carrying out factory building inspections. It has also carried out building surveys of factories in Bangladesh from which it sources garments. Primark will continue to monitor the welfare of victims with long-term injuries or loss of earnings, in conjunction with local partners that have advised the company on its approach to compensation.
