The survivors of Tazreen Fashions fire, which killed at least 112 garment workers last year, are still suffering from their injuries and loss of income and have not received adequate compensation, Human Rights Watch said yesterday.
The brands that were sourcing garments from the factory should immediately join an International Labour Organisation effort to fund full and fair compensation to all the injured and the families of the dead, the New York-based rights body said in a statement.
Meaningful compensation has so far only been provided by the BGMEA, the Bangladesh government, and the European retailer C&A, and Li & Fung of Hong Kong. But injured workers who received Tk100,000 ($1,267) each told the HRW that the money was insufficient and ran out after the first few months.
The Amsterdam-based Clean Clothes campaign has calculated that the amount of long-term compensation for the injured and deceased should be at least $5.7m, and could be shared between the factory owner, retailers, the BGMEA, and the government.
This is based on a formula previously used by Bangladeshi trade unions and foreign retailers, including Gap, to set the amount of compensation following a factory fire in 2010 in which 29 people died.
Some workers and relatives of two missing workers told the HRW that a year after the November 24, 2012 fire, they had received no compensation.
Survivors said they had been forced to sell off their possessions to pay for treatment. One said her husband was now begging for money. Others said they could not afford medical care.
In the months leading up to the fire, Tazreen’s workers made clothes for prominent international retailers including Walmart, Sears, Karl Reiker, and Teddy Smith.
Each company later said the garments had been produced at the Tazreen factory without their knowledge. The HRW wrote letters to these and 16 other companies seeking clarification of their connection with Tazreen, but none have responded.
In the wake of the Tazreen fire and the subsequent collapse of Rana Plaza in April when over 1,100 workers died, Walmart and other foreign retailers pledged to improve the fire and building safety of Bangladeshi factories. They recently announced a joint programme for inspecting factories, and for the first time published some details of the factories that supply them.
The companies have not, however, pledged to help other factories in the supply chain. The retailers have also not agreed to a compensation package for the Rana Plaza victims.
