DHAKA: Primark will make another compensation payment to victims of the Rana Plaza factory disaster in Bangladesh, the discount clothing chain said yesterday, calling on other international brands to follow suit.
The collapse of Rana Plaza on April 24 that killed 1,129 people has galvanised some of the clothing industry’s big names to try to improve safety standards at suppliers but they have failed to agree on a compensation fund for victims despite months of wrangling.
Worker rights groups have accused wealthy western producers of evading financial responsibility for a disaster that highlighted the gruelling and poorly paid conditions in which millions of Bangaleshis work.
Primark, the only retailer that sourced from the factory to pay compensation so far, said it would pay out for the third time to workers or their dependents from New Wave Bottoms, the supplier that was producing clothing for the chain. It had some 550 workers at the factory at the time of the collapse.
The chain, owned by Associated British Foods, also said it was pressing ahead with plans to pay long-term compensation to the 550 in the New Year despite the lack of an industry-wide agreement.
“Primark is calling on other brands involved in the Rana Plaza disaster to make a contribution by paying short-term aid to some 3,000 workers or their dependents who made clothes for their labels,” it said. REUTERS
