Compensation for factory victims inches ahead
SAVAR, BANGLADESH — Bangladesh began compiling details Monday about the victims of the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse as part of a compensation deal, but dozens of people took to the streets demanding a more complete accounting of the disaster.
The collapse killed more than 1,100 people and highlighted the grim conditions in Bangladesh’s garment industry, a major supplier to global fashion brands.
Mojtaba Kazazi, executive commissioner of Rana Plaza Claims Administration, said injured workers and families of the dead should have compensation payments in six months.
Retailers like Bonmarche, El Corte Ingles, Loblaw and Primark have pledged $40 million for the fund.
“Today we have started working, we will continue it for months,” Kazazi said. “But the whole process will be complete in six months.”
An independent panel formed under the direction of Bangladesh’s High Court has recommended that the disabled and the families of the dead should receive more than $19,000.
The panel also recommended nearly $9,000 for workers who lost limbs and about $1,900 for workers who suffered psychological trauma.
Nearly a year after the collapse, many victims say the compensation has been too slow and that the list of those who were killed is still incomplete.
Dozens of people protested in the capital, Dhaka, and its outskirts Monday, demanding information about the missing.