Plight of Rana Plaza victims is highlighted
Unions and the TUC marked International Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 April, with its rallying cry of “Remember the dead, but fight for the living”.
And they called for clothing companies that source from Bangladesh to properly compensate the victims of the Rana Plaza disaster.
On 24 April 2013, the eight-storey Rana Plaza building in the Savar district of Dhaka, which housed several garment factories, collapsed killing 1,138 workers and injuring over 2,500.
Most of the victims were young women, and hundreds of children lost one or both of their parents in the tragedy.
While some 30 companies have publicly disclosed their donations to the Rana Plaza Trust Fund, millions of dollars still need to be raised in order to provide full compensation.
Public services union UNISON is calling on the European Commission to consider a partial suspension of trade privileges should the Bangladesh government continue to delay implementing vital labour law reforms.
Bert Schouwenburg, international officer for the GMB general union, said his union endorsed the call by the Bangladeshi National Garment Workers Federation “that the labour-standard should be improved, free trade union rights should be given, repression on workers should be stopped and [the] living wage should be given to the workers”. The union is also demanding that brands follow “fair trade” practices and pay a “fair price” for Bangladeshi garments.