International

Two years on from the disaster at the textile factory in Rana Plaza, not all of the victims have been compensated for the suffering they have undergone. The measures which have been announced have not been fully implemented, and the SP wants to see the ‘naming and shaming’ of the guilty textile manufacturers, as well as the application and monitoring of the 2013 agreement on fire prevention and the safety of buildings.

SP Euro-MP Anne-Marie Mineur has made concrete proposals designed to speed up the sclerotic handling of the matter. “Two years on from the disaster there are bereaved families who have still not received any compensation for the loss of their loved ones. They’ll never get their partners, their parents or their children back, but financial compensation is surely the least that the textile manufacturers can do. I want the European Commissioner to put more pressure on the western corporations who are falling short when it comes to paying their share.”

Mineur is also urging measures to prevent such disasters in future. “The Bangladesh government has to support the unions so that they can make a fist of it in their struggle with the exploiting firms which don’t follow the labour code. They should also exercise strict supervision of the application of the agreement on improving working conditions, as well as the agreement on fire prevention and the safety of buildings that some of the clothing manufacturers have signed. We’ve heard enough empty sloganizing and what’s needed now is to give the trade unions effective tools.” At this week’s Strasbourg European Parliament plenary session, the SP will propose a resolution to this effect.

The disaster in Rana Plaza on 24th April 2013 was the deadliest disaster ever in a textile factory. 1,138 people lost their lives and a further 2,500 were injured. Far from all the bodies have been recovered. Not only was supervision of the building’s safety seriously lacking, but the role of the trade unions had also been restricted. Despite the warning signals which had already led to the banks there considering having it closed, the employers continued to make the workforce turn up, some threatening to withhold their wages.