Rana Plaza compensation in installments!
Foreign buyers are not coming up with funds. BGMEA, the association of readymade garment factory owners, is not interested. Funds remain lying in the Prime Minister’s relief fund. The High Court has come up with no decision. As a result, the issue of compensation for those killed or injured in the Rana Plaza collapse, lies in limbo. In this uncertain state, the coordination committee formed by ILO plans to start paying the compensation in installments, for the time being.
So far a total of 17.7 million USD, that is 141 crore taka, has been deposited in the Rana Plaza Arrangement Coordination Committee fund, though the required amount is 40 million USD or 320 crore taka. Nothing is being said about payment of 105 crore taka from the Prime Minister’s relief fund. Sources in the coordination committee say that the injured persons and the families of those who died in the collapse, may receive an installment of the compensation before Eid-ul-Fitr. The money will go straight to their bank accounts from the international fund formed for the compensation. Last March the victims of the incident began filling in the claim forms for the Rana Plaza Arrangement Coordination Committee. The committee set up a Rana Plaza Claims Administration Office in the Savar cantonment where the relations of the injured deceased persons go to fill up the forms. At the same time, bank accounts were opened for the next of kin. So far the families of 2,763 workers have filled up the claim forms. This includes the families of 660 workers who were killed in the collapse, though a total of 1,136 died in the incident. The claims are now being scrutinized.
After the collapse, last year 3,639 persons were paid 45,000 taka each as three months' wages. The payment was made through Bikash. This payment was provided by Primark, the Ireland-based retailer. Before another year passes, the international Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund, is allocating 50,000 taka each for 2,929 victims.
Uncertainty over compensation: In June last year the British government issued letters to various British readymade garment buyer organisations to provide funds for compensation. According to the Guardian, British Minister for International Development Alan Duncan instructed Matalan and quite a few other firms to provide funds for compensation.
According to sources in the international labour organization, Clean Cloth Campaign, five factories in Rana Plaza would manufacture readymade garments for 29 buyer organisations. Of these, 16 did not provide any money to the fund and didn’t make any commitment to do so either. And most of the organisations that did provide funds, provided very little. Primark is the exception, providing nine million dollar in compensation. This will be used to provide compensation for 580 workers of New Wave Bottoms which was in the first floor of Rana Plaza.
A total of 127 crore taka has been deposited from various quarters in the Prime Minister’s relief fund for the Rana Plaza victims. On 22 crore of this has been spent on the victims, as declared by the Prime Minister’s Office at a press briefing held on April 23. However, many of the victims did not receive any grant from this fund. The government says nothing about when the remaining amount will be distributed or if it will be distributed at all. Reputed lawyer Shahdeen Malik has written eight letters from last September till June this year, asking for an account of the Prime Minister’s relief fund expenditure on the Rana Plaza victims. In the letters he has requested the Prime Minister to give a detailed account to the parliament or by publishing a white paper, about how much of the money of the Prime Minister’s relief fund has been spent for the Rana Plaza victims and other details in this regard. The Prime Minister’s Office has not issued any reply.
No decision from the High Court: An initiative was taken by the High Court bench of Justice Mirza Hossain Haider and Justice Muhammed Khurshed Alam Sarkar regarding compensation for the victims. A high-level 31-member committee was formed in August last year. The committee formed two sub-committees and submitted recommendations to the High Court, fixing a specific sum required for compensation.
According to the report of the committee, each family of the deceased, missing and permanently disabled workers would have to be given 14 lac 51 thousand 300 taka as compensation. And in accordance to their injuries, the workers would be given from a minimum of 1.5 lac taka to a maximum of 7.5 lac taka.