Where is the compensation?
It has been three months since the devastation of Rana Plaza disaster that killed more than 1,100 people, orphaned some 200 children and maimed hundreds. Most families of victims or those fortunate to have survived the ordeal having sustained serious injury have not received any monetary aid from the BGMEA, the foreign buyers or the government. However, we take note of the financial assistance handed over by the prime minister to 123 of the family members of the victims on July 24. This state of affairs is not acceptable.
Rehabilitation from injury costs money. And what is to become of the children who have lost one or both parents? Who takes care of them? With all eyes fixed upon the amended Bangladesh Labour Law focusing on workers’ rights, improvement of building and fire safety measures, it appears that the issue of rehabilitation and compensation has been pushed out of the public view. And the discrepancy in compensation could not be starker. Newspaper reports tell us that while some victims received compensation as high as Tk1.5million, others have received only their salaries from BGMEA, while the bulk have been left to fend for themselves.
What is now evident is that the manner in which information about actual number of victims was collected was unprofessional. This has created much confusion about who should receive what compensation. Furthermore, there is lack of consensus about precisely who should recompense the victims. It is high time authorities step in to clear up the confusion and set-up a mechanism whereby the survivors can make ends meet.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Bangladesh: Rana Plaza disaster
Where is the compensation?
It has been three months since the devastation of Rana Plaza disaster that killed more than 1,100 people, orphaned some 200 children and maimed hundreds. Most families of victims or those fortunate to have survived the ordeal having sustained serious injury have not received any monetary aid from the BGMEA, the foreign buyers or the government. However, we take note of the financial assistance handed over by the prime minister to 123 of the family members of the victims on July 24. This state of affairs is not acceptable.
Rehabilitation from injury costs money. And what is to become of the children who have lost one or both parents? Who takes care of them? With all eyes fixed upon the amended Bangladesh Labour Law focusing on workers’ rights, improvement of building and fire safety measures, it appears that the issue of rehabilitation and compensation has been pushed out of the public view. And the discrepancy in compensation could not be starker. Newspaper reports tell us that while some victims received compensation as high as Tk1.5million, others have received only their salaries from BGMEA, while the bulk have been left to fend for themselves.
What is now evident is that the manner in which information about actual number of victims was collected was unprofessional. This has created much confusion about who should receive what compensation. Furthermore, there is lack of consensus about precisely who should recompense the victims. It is high time authorities step in to clear up the confusion and set-up a mechanism whereby the survivors can make ends meet.
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