Blast demands compensation for Rana Plaza victims

Published at 01:29 pm April 24th, 2020

This April 24, 2013 file photo shows a Fire Service personnel is seen carrying a victim of the Rana Plaza accident out of the debris Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune

On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza collapsed killing 1,138 workers while over 2,000 were injured

Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (Blast) has demanded proper compensation for victims’ of Rana Plaza tragedy, which took place seven years ago on April 24, 2013.

Blast Deputy Director (Law) Md Barkat Ali stated this in a press release issued on Friday.

The 7th anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, the worst-ever tragedy in the country’s multi-billion-dollar ready-made garment (RMG) industry, is being observed on Friday amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Blast has recommended some points which should be acted upon in order to compensate the victims.

The recommendations are as follows

To settle the pending cases against those responsible for the tragedy, as fast as possible
To rehabilitate the injured workers and ensure safe workplaces
To identify the risky factory buildings and put warning signboards at the front
To make sure every factory owner practice fire drills regularly in order to make the workplace more secure
To activate a safety committee in every factory
To fix the deserved compensation amount according to international standards and amend the Labour Act
Considering the future wage, health facility and expenses of family members, start a “workplace accident insurance” policy
Publish a list of workers in every factory and follow “safety plan” at the time of work
To collect “Occupancy Certificate” before renting/acquiring buildings for setting up factories
To make sure that every building has the proper number of fire extinguishers and provide training to workers and staff members which will be useful in terms of emergencies.
To start insurance schemes
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the workers at risk should be provided with special facilities including financial support, relief and assurance of rehabilitation

“In the end, all we can hope is a collaboration between government and private sectors to provide proper compensations to the victims of Rana Plaza, Tazreen and all other accidents and also ensure that none of the workers will be neglected during this global coronavirus outbreak,” Barkat said.

On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza, an illegally-constructed building in Savar which housed five garment factories, collapsed, killing 1,138 people and injuring over 2,000 others.