More than three years since the government committed to create a binding mechanism to ensure compensation to workers who are injured or die in workplace accidents, it is yet to take any initiative in this regard. The government claims that discussion is going on to develop the tripartite protocol outlining legal entitlements for compensation, while labour leaders said that both the government and employers are unwilling to discuss the issue. Following the tragic fire incident at Tazreen Fashions Ltd on November 24, 2012 that killed at least 114 workers and injured 200, mostly women, the government adopted the National Tripartite Plan of Action on Fire Safety for the Readymade Garment Sector in Bangladesh. In the action plan, the government promised to develop a tripartite protocol for compensation for the families of workers who died and were injured as a result of occupational accidents and diseases, by December 31, 2013. In its commitment, the government also said the tripartite protocol will include a review of the appropriateness of the level of current legal entitlement to compensation, bearing in mind the concept of loss of earnings and the provisions of International Labour Organisation Convention 121. The government, employers and labour leaders on March 16, 2013 recognised the tripartite plan of action as their individual and collective responsibility. After the Rana Plaza building collapse on April 24, 2013 that killed more than 1,100 people and injured hundreds, mostly garment workers, the government included structural integrity in the action plan and once again promised to ensure a legal entitlement to compensation for workers. ‘The tripartite protocol on compensation is a fundamental issue for the workers. We demanded repeatedly a legal framework of compensation for the workers who die or are injured as a result of occupational accidents, but the government is yet to take any initiative,’ Wajed-ul Islam Khan, former co-coordinator of Sramik-Karmachari Oikya Parishad, told New Age. He said that the families of Rana Plaza victims and the survivors got some amount from the donor trust fund under the ILO initiative but it is not compensation. Compensation should be assessed on the basis of loss of yearly earnings and it should be paid by the employers, Wajed said. He said that the amount received by the Rana Plaza survivors and families of victims from prime minister’s fund and from buyers and donors was charity but the employers are yet to pay any single penny to the workers. ‘We demanded several times but the government did not take any initiative to develop the tripartite protocol for compensation. I think the government should take immediate initiatives to fulfil its pledge,’ labour rights activist Sultan Uddin Ahmed said. The issue remained untouched for long due to the unwillingness of the government and employers, he said. State minister for labour Mujibul Haque said that though Bangladesh ratified the ILO convention no 121 the provision for compensation would be set based on country’s socio-economic condition. ‘We have already increased the amount of compensation to Tk 1.5 lakh from Tk 1 lakh,’ he said. Mujibul said that the issue for ensuring legal entitlements to compensation for workers is at the stage of discussions. After the Rana Plaza building collapse a committee headed by General Officer Commanding of the Nine Infantry Division of the Bangladesh Army stationed in Savar was formed in accordance with a suo moto order issued by a High Court bench to assess the amount of compensation for the Rana Plaza victims. The committee submitted a report to the Supreme Court registrar’s office on January 23, 2014, that proposed Tk 14.51 lakh and Tk 1.5 lakh as the highest and lowest compensation for victims of Rana Plaza collapse. The matter is still sub-judies. Immediately after the Rana plaza building collapse, a donors’ trust fund was established through the efforts of the ILO. The ILO estimated a total of $30 million as funds to compensate all the deceased, missing and injured workers. The amount was collected from three different sources: from brands and retailers through the Rana Plaza Donor Trust Fund, the prime minister’s fund and Primark, a retailer who had use New Wave Bottoms, a Rana Plaza Factory. In total, the Rana Plaza arrangement paid out $18.47 million from the money collected by the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund, $2.5 million came from the prime minister’s fund and $12.49 million paid out by Primark.
