Compensation for Tazreen Fashions and Rana Plaza victims

Yesterday saw the close of two days of compensation talks for Tazreen Fashions factory fire and Rana Plaza collapse victims and their families. The meetings took place in Geneva, facilitated by the ILO as neutral chair and attended by 11 international brands and retailers.

Global trade union IndustriALL presented a proposed model for compensation, which has been used by brands and retailers in previous factory disasters in Bangladesh. The model includes payment for pain and suffering and loss of income. For Rana Plaza, US$74,571,101 would be needed to provide full compensation to all workers, of which the brands are being asked to contribute US$33,556,996. For Tazreen, US$6,442,000 is required, with US$2,899,000 being asked from the brands.

International experts outlined best practices for the establishment of a compensation fund, overseen by a multi-stakeholder committee, which could be created through an agreement by all the parties involved. No final agreement was reached at this meeting, although the brands and retailers in attendance committed to continuing discussions.

ETI Director Peter McAllister said: “We are pleased to see progress towards ensuring that Tazreen and Rana Plaza victims and their families receive the compensation they are due. Some brands and retailers have individually provided compensation, which should be applauded. But we urge all brands and retailers that had a business relationship with these factories to come forward and commit to developing a credible compensation fund and process. This is the right thing to do and should be done with a sense of urgency.”

For further information, please visit the IndustriALL website.

ETI's blog covers issues at the intersection of business and human rights. We feature posts by, for and from our members and allies; we do not accept or offer payment for posts or publish content outside of these criteria. We welcome a range of insights and opinions from our guest bloggers, though don't necessarily agree with everything they say.