Bowing to pressure from campaigners, budget clothing firm Matalan announced on Wednesday that it would donate to a UN-backed fund for the victims of Rana Plaza, the collapsed clothing factory in Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka, The Independent of UK reported on Wednesday.
The company had not disclosed how much it would pay into the fund to compensate disabled survivors and families who had lost their primary earners in the catastrophic industrial accident, The Independent reported.
Campaigners remained concerned because it was not clear how much money Matalan was committing to the victims fund, the report said.
On Monday, 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 the compensation fund, The Independent reported.
“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 in Savar.
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 International Labour Organisation (ILO), according to campaign groups 38 Degrees and Labour Behind the Label.
Matalan’s rival in the budget apparel sector, Primark, had pledged $12m of which $8m would be counted as a contribution to the compensation fund, according to the report.
Matalan said it had made an undisclosed donation to BRAC, a Bangladeshi NGO running the Rana Plaza Survivors Rehabilitation Scheme.
The company was “proud” of the work it had done on 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 the ILO.”
The firm stressed that it had only used Rana Plaza on a short-term pilot basis, and the final order was delivered three weeks before the building collapsed. All proceeds made from the sale of the clothes will go to BRAC, Matalan 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,” The Independent reported Compton as saying.
The UN-backed fund hoped to raise $40m for Rana Plaza survivors.
