Call for quick compensation for Rana Plaza victims
Garment workers, activists, and relatives march in the street with a mock coffin in front of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association office in Dhaka yesterday. Hundreds staged demonstrations demanding compensation for accident survivors and a full account of the missing labourers of the nation's worst industrial disaster in Savar on April 24. Photo: AFP
The leaders of Garment Sramik Sangram Parishad, a platform of garment workers, yesterday demanded quick payment of compensation to the victims of Rana Plaza collapse in Savar on April 24 that killed 1,132 workers.
They also stressed the need for abolition of the amended labour law, which, they said, will fail to protect the interest of the workers.
“The amended labour law will only protect the interests of the owners,” said Rafiqul Islam Pathik, a coordinator of the platform, at a rally in front of the office of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Pathik also said many victims of the accident did not receive any compensation while some received Tk 1 lakh to Tk 3 lakh from the Prime Minister's Office.
The wage board should fix Tk 8,000 as the monthly basic salary for garment workers at the entry level and Tk 12,000 as gross, he said.
Many victims of collapse are still in uncertainty as their names were not enrolled in the list, which Savar upazila authorities is preparing for paying compensation, Pathik said, adding that the DNA tests of unidentified victims should also be completed soon.
Pathik said they did not submit any memorandum to the BGMEA to press home their demands.
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