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Reuters

Published


Oct 24, 2013

Berlin, Germany – Primark will once again pay compensation to victims of the Rana Plaza factory disaster in Bangladesh, the discount clothing chain announced on Thursday, calling on other international brands to follow suit.

The April 24 Rana Plaza collapse, which killed 1,129 people, has prompted some big names in the garment industry to push for improved safety standards at suppliers. However, despite months of discussions, they have failed to agree on a compensation fund for victims.

Workers’ rights groups accuse wealthy Western manufacturers of evading financial responsibility for a disaster that has exposed the grueling and poorly paid conditions in which millions of Bangladeshis labor.

Primark, the only retailer to have paid compensation from the factory so far, said it would pay out a third payment to workers or their families at New Wave Bottoms, the supplier that made clothing for the chain. About 550 workers were at the factory at the time of the collapse.

The chain, owned by Associated British Foods, also said it is pushing ahead with plans to pay its 550 workers long-term compensation in the new year despite the lack of a sector-wide agreement.

“Primark is calling on other brands affected by the Rana Plaza disaster to contribute by providing short-term assistance to around 3,000 workers or their relatives who made clothes for their brands,” the company said in a statement.

About 3.6 million people work in Bangladesh’s garment industry, making it the world’s second-largest garment exporter after China, but a portion of the workforce, mostly women, earns just $38 a month. About 60 percent of garment exports go to Europe and 23 percent to the United States.

The International Labour Organization is coordinating talks to try to reach an agreement on setting up long-term funds for Rana Plaza workers and for victims of the Tazreen factory fire in November 2012, which killed 112 workers.

JUBILEE GUARD

IndustriALL and UNI, two international trade unions involved in the process, are planning a candlelight vigil at sunset at Rana Plaza to mark the six-month anniversary.

“Survivors and families of victims today at Rana Plaza remembered their loved ones and are all asking the same question: When will we finally get compensation for our losses?” the unions said in a statement.

Many of the 28 brands supplied by Rana Plaza have rejected attempts to set up a fund. Some say their production has been outsourced to the factory without their knowledge, while others say they prefer to pursue their own compensation plans.

Advocacy groups the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) and the International Labor Rights Forum noted that Canada’s Loblaw Cos Ltd had also pledged to provide short-term assistance, while Italian retailer Benetton and Spanish chain El Corte Ingles joined efforts to set up a fund.

They said Zara owner Inditex, Britain’s Bonmarche and Denmark’s Mascot had indicated they would contribute to a fund, but dozens of other brands were doing too little.

“It is time for all brands involved in the tragedies to take action and … donate money to the fund and thereby take financial responsibility for a disaster they could not prevent,” said Ineke Zeldenrust of the CCC.

A group of North American retailers and apparel manufacturers formed in the wake of the disaster has already completed inspections of more than half of the Bangladeshi garment factories it does business with in an effort to improve fire and building safety, the group said this week.

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