Several RMG trade union leaders yesterday urged the government, buyers and garment owners to ensure proper compensation to the survivors and family members of the deceased in the Rana Plaza collapse. They also demanded forming a fund with contribution from the government, buyers and the owners to bear the educational expenses of victims’ children. The union leaders made the call at separate rallies and human chains, formed by several Ready-Made Garments (RMG) federations to observe the second anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse yesterday in front of the National Press Club. National Garment Workers’ Federation President Amirul Haque Amin demanded formation of a fund to bear the educational expenses of the victims’ children as they lost their parents. He also urged the government, garment owners and buyers to take necessary measures to rehabilitate and provide treatment facilities to the survivors. Bangladesh Textile-Garment Workers’ Federation urged the government to take effective measures to ensure compensation and demanded punishment of culprits responsible for the disaster. It also urged to set a compensation standard. “Sohel Rana, owner of the Rana Plaza building, did not get punishment even after two years of the building collapse, rather he is staying in jail in luxury,” said Hazera Sultana, Member of Parliament, who took part in the rally. She also blamed Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association for not implementing the compensation package. “If the government ensured workers’ rights in the RMG sector and punished the culprits behind Tazreen Fashion Fire, the Rana Plaza incident would not have happened,” she added. “Two years have passed since the factory disaster but a good number of workers did not yet get their proper compensation, which was pledged by several quarters,” said AKM Mustafa Kamal, coordinator of Global Union UNI Bangladesh Liaison Council. He also demanded implementation of steps to ensure worker safety and compensation. Ramesh Chandra Roy, Secretary General of IndustriAll Bangladesh Council and member of the coordination committee, urged the global buyers to contribute to Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund to compensate victims. The fund so far collected $24mn and needs $6mn more to pay the full compensation. The victims of Rana Plaza have suffered enough, so no more excuses; please pay sufficient compensation as the workers have lost the ability to work in a factory, said the trade union leaders taking part in the rallies. Rana Plaza, an eight-storey building located in Savar that housed five RMG factories, collapsed on April 24, 2013 killing over 1,135 workers and injured over 2,500 people. Meanwhile, the Rana Plaza Coordination Committee has so far distributed Tk76 crore among the victims, which is 70% of the estimated compensation. Over Tk15.38 crore has been given out as compensation to 976 deceased victims’ families and Tk4.1 crore to 38 severely injured victims.
