Compensation disbursement getting delayed

The process of disbursing compensation to the Rana Plaza victims has slowed mainly due to non-cooperation by retailers and brands, said a senior official of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council.
The International Labour Organisation gave away $1.8 million among 2,929 workers or their families on April 22, on the eve of the first anniversary of the tragedy, from its trust fund.
But, later no new brands deposited money to the Rana Plaza Trust Fund, which has collected $17 million so far against a target of $40 million, according to Roy Ramesh, general secretary to the IndustriALL Bangladesh Council.
Though 29 retailers had promised to contribute to the fund, only nine showed up so far, he said.
IndustriALL Global Union, a federation of global trade unions, initiated the compensation package last year involving the ILO.
“We could not disburse money to around 130 victims due to problems in their documents. They will be compensated after verification,” Ramesh said.
Of the total 3,639 victims, British retailer Primark gave compensation to 580 workers of New Wave Bottoms Ltd, a factory on the second floor of the ill-fated building from where the retailer used to source garment items.
“The process is still very slow. We need to speed it up so that the victims get the money as soon as possible,” Ramesh said.
He, however, said the process of giving away the compensation may take one more year to complete.
IndustriALL Bangladesh Council also sent letters to the US, Canada, Japan, Australia and the EU authorities seeking donations for the victims.