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Rana Plaza Compensation

Yawning gap between pledges and delivery

9 months on, many victims still deprived

Staff Correspondent
Many Rana Plaza victims are yet to receive the promised compensation from the government and Western retailers, nine months after the nation's worst industrial disaster.
To date, families of 777 of the 1,135 dead workers have received Tk 1-5 lakh each from the Prime Minister's Fund, while the compensation was "very insignificant” for most of the 1,800 injured workers, according to an analysis of the Centre for Policy Dialogue.
"A number of victims who were interviewed have not yet received any of their financial dues," said KG Moazzem, additional research director of CPD, who led the team of researchers for the project.
In August last year, the CPD in partnership with 14 rights organisations, professional bodies and media outlets launched a civil society initiative to monitor the progress of the commitments made by the local and international organisations.
The think-tank yesterday organised a dialogue titled Rana Plaza Tragedy and Beyond: An Update on Commitments and Delivery, at the Brae Centre Inn in Dhaka to present the latest developments.
More than Tk 100 crore has been put into the Prime Minister's Fund, but only Tk 18.85 crore has been spent so far, Moazzem said.
The government pledged longterm support of Tk 10-15 lakh for the seriously injured, but only 40 have received the payment so far.
On reemployment and training of workers and their able-bodied family members, Moazzem said there had been slow progress in the initiatives jointly undertaken by the government and local and international organisations.
About the government’s pledge to ensure reemployment of 100 workers in the leather industry, he said only 32 of them were to take training for the job.
Of the 100 jobs promised by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), 70 Rana Plaza victims have been recruited at member factories in Savar.
Two initiatives at local and global levels to provide compensation are halfway, as both are facing complexities over participation by retailers and suppliers, legal issues, methods for estimating the compensation, collection of funds and its disbursement.
"Since the workers and their
families are in distress, the discussion on compensation should be completed immediately," Moazzem said.
At the dialogue, MM Akash, a professor of economics at Dhaka University and also a member of the committee responsible for setting compensation packages for the victims, said the 31-member committee has fixed Tk 14.51 lakh as compensation for the dead workers' families or those permanently disabled.
The amount will beTk 7.5 lakh for workers who have lost one limb, Tk 4.5 lakh for workers who will be unable to work for a long period andTk 1.5 lakh for workers suffering mental trauma.
He, however, said the committee, which was formed following a High Court order, could not come up with a package for the rescuers who have been injured. "But if they have suffered the same level of injury as the workers, they will fall in the same category."
Hamida Hossain, chairman of Ain o Salish Kendra, criticised the compensation-fixing committee for slashing the amount by 25 percent to Tk 15 lakh from an initial Tk 20 lakh.
She said the direct dependants of the victims should get the com-pensation as the existing Inheritance Law might see the assistance end up in the hands of the victims' parents.
Mohammad Hatem, acting president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the Tk
15 lakh as compensation should be a "one-off incident" and not be made the norm for compensation in case of future disasters.
CPD Chairman Rehman Sobhan said the 40 lakh garment workers were vital to the country's economy. "So, this is a concern for all in Bangladesh, as our bread and butter depend on them."
Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of the CPD, said the questions of transparency, accountability and free flow of information would come back again and again. "Ultimately, the government will have to take the final responsibility."
“Is there any website which can inform us who have donated how much to the fund and who have received from the fund and how much? If we have regular flow of information, there will be less confusion and finger-pointing and it will be clear to us where we will have to take a position."
Shaheen Anam, executive direc-tor of Manusher Jonno Foundation, called for ensuring transparency in handing out compensation. She said there should be proactive disclosure under the Right to Information Act about the Prime Minister's Fund.
Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar, however, said the government was very open and transparent about its work. "It cannot be said that there is no improvement - there have been some. And we will need more time."
He said he would look into the matter as some people were claim-
ing to have not received anything.
Shipar said although a trust fund of $40 million was said to have been formed by four retailers, the government was yet to receive a single taka from it.
Atiqul Islam, president of BGMEA, said the garment factories were improving their workplace conditions, but they were yet to receive any financial assistance from abroad although "promises were abundant”.
At the discussion, some injured workers spoke of their current situation.
Mariam Begum, who has lost her right hand, said she had received Tk 12 lakh from the government. "But I cannot use the artificial hand as it is too heavy. As a result, 1 can't do any work."
Shumita, who was rescued five days after the building caved in, suffered injuries to her right hand and back, leaving her too weak to be able to work. She said she had received Tk 60,000 from an international buyer and was struggling to run her family of three.
Mukul Begum, whose husband Mozammel Hossain died during the building collapse, said she was finding it impossible to run the family and bear the educational expenses of her daughter, who is currently studying in Class VIL
Khoaz Ali, who worked for 22 days as a volunteer rescuer, said many civilian rescuers were struggling to return to normal life following their first-hand experience at the disaster site. “But we have not received any help."