Bowing to pressure from campaigners, budget clothing firm Matalan has announced to donate to an UN-backed fund for victims of a collapsed clothing factory Rana Plaza in Savar of Dhaka.
However, the company has not disclosed how much it will pay to help compensate people left with disabilities, and families who lost their main providers, reports The Independent of UK.
Campaigners remain concerned as it did not clear how much it will pay for the victims, the report said.
On Monday, the campaign groups launched a social-media campaign which saw tens of thousands of people send emails, make calls and send tweets urging Matalan to contribute.
On Wednesday, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development Jim Murphy, and Shadow Development Minister Alison McGovern also called on Matalan to pay towards compensation.
“It looks like good news for people power that Matalan has said that it will pay into the official compensation fund,” said Susannah Compton of 38 Degrees on Wednesday.
The Rana Plaza factory collapsed in April 2013, killing 1,129 people and injuring more than 2,515 others.
Matalan bought supplies made in the eight-story complex Rana Plaza in Savar, on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.
But – until Wednesday – it was the only major British firm which had not paid into the Rana Plaza donor trust fund.
The fund is backed by the UN’s backed International Labour Organisation (ILO), according to campaign groups 38 Degrees and Labour Behind the Label.
According to the agency, Wal-Mart, the US owner of Asda, is also backing the plan, while Primark has pledged $8m.
Matalan could donate $3million towards its $20million target for the first round of payments, Organisers of the Rana Plaza fund had suggested. The fund aims to raise $40m in total.
However, Matalan said it had instead made an undisclosed donation to BRAC, an NGO focused on rehabilitation and retraining for survivors of the Rana Plaza disaster.
The company was “proud” of the work it had done one the ground with BRAC in Bangladesh over the last few months, Allan Leighton, Non Executive Chairman of Matalan, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Together we have helped hundreds of people that have been injured or lost loved ones in the Rana Plaza tragedy and we are looking at ways to make sure this help continues. We have also made a donation to ILO.”
The firm also stressed that it had only used Rana Plaza on a short pilot basis, and the final order was delivered three weeks before the building collapsed. All proceeds from the clothes made will go to BRAC, it said.
It added it was neither found culpable for the tragedy, nor was it “ordered” to pay compensation.
"It's worrying to see that Matalan has clammed up about how much money it's paying in.
Until Matalan says exactly how much it's paid, its customers will still be waiting to see what kind of business it really is - and whether it's really donating the £3m the official fund needs," said Ms Compton.