The Clean Clothes Campaign is increasing its pressure on Benetton, Mango and other fashion brands to pay full and fair compensation to victims of Tazreen fire and the collapse of Rana Plaza that housed five garments.
All brands, including Walmart, who are linked to the Tazreen and Rana Plaza disasters are being called on to attend the meetings on compensation in Geneva on September 11 (Tazreen) and 12 (Rana Plaza) convened by IndustriALL Global Union.
The ILO will facilitate the meetings as a neutral and independent chair. Representatives of the Bangladesh government and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exports Association (BGMEA) have also been invited.
Consumers from all over Europe are using social media to call on Mango and Benetton to come to the compensation meeting and pay Rana Plaza survivors, according to a Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) press release.
However, BGMEA Vice-President Reaz Bin Mahmood said they would not join the meeting, which he said was “meant for the retailers and the buyers.”
Moreover, the BGMEA was not invited to the meeting, he claimed.
The Tazreen fire killed at least 112 on November 24 last year while the Rana Plaza building collapse left at least 1,133 people killed on April 24.
The campaign expects the brands to make commitments to paying compensation and to collectively develop a mechanism with other stakeholders that will ensure the money is transparently distributed, so as to ensure the people affected can restart their lives. Brands have been asked to confirm their attendance by today.
The estimated long-term compensation for Rana Plaza will be more than $71m while for Tazreen it is at least $5.7m. These figures include compensation for pain and suffering, as well as long-term loss of earnings for families of deceased workers, and injured workers unable to return to work.
The amounts are likely to increase once medical costs for the physically injured workers, psychological support for all workers or their families and payments for lost wages and legal severance payments are calculated.
Fatima, a sewing operator at Tazreen, has been forced to move back to her village. She says: “My husband died three years ago. Since then, I have lived with my son, who is now five years old. I cannot send him to school because there is not enough money.
Just when I wanted to enrol him in school, I was injured in the fire. After months of medication I can just manage to walk, but if I work too long at a machine and use my foot for pedalling, my foot bloats.
“The BGMEA did not pay me anything and I did not receive anything from the government. If I could somehow manage to buy a sewing machine to use at home, I could live off this income and take care of my son.”