Grenfell fire revealed businesses’ ‘attitude of unaccountable power’
THE aunt of a 12-year-old girl who died in the Grenfell fire has called for changes among the firms many survivors blame for the disaster.
Sandra Ruiz said the atrocity showed an “attitude of unaccountable power” that exists in companies which have “lost their moral compass”.
Ms Ruiz, whose niece Jessica Urbano Ramirez was among 72 people killed in the blaze, spoke at Grenfell Testimony Week, which began in London yesterday.
She addressed representatives from many of the organisations which bereaved family members hold responsible for what happened in June 2017.
Addressing those present, Ms Ruiz said:
“We need to see a change in how organisations are led. If you do not go back to your boardrooms to inspire them to make a commitment to memorialising Grenfell by making fundamental changes in their business models, putting people ahead of profits, then this will all have been worthless.”
She described the fact that not all defendant organisations were present as showing “a total disregard for their responsibilities but also a total disregard for our loss”.
The Grenfell disaster has shown that “many organisations, private and public, have lost their moral compass”, Ms Ruiz added. She said an “attitude of unaccountable power” had been “further compounded” with the spotlight falling on other “miscarriages brought about by similar attitudes”, referencing the Post Office scandal.
Bereaved Marcio Gomes described the life his son could have had. Child Logan was stillborn after the blaze.
Speaking about missed first milestones such as birthdays, he told the firms: “This is what you have taken away from me.”
The four-day event is being held as part of an agreement reached following the settlement of a damages claim last year involving about 900 cases, and a global sum of about £150million in compensation for people affected by the fire.