European clothing retailer Primark has paid 95 percent of its promised long-term compensations to 668 victims who suffered because of the tragic Rana Plaza building collapse two years ago this month.
Primark had been sourcing product from New Wave Bottoms, a supplier on the second floor of the Rana Plaza facility at the time of the collapse. The retailer has so far paid $14 million in aid, plus a $1 payment into the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund, which will go to other affected workers.
According to Bangladesh’s The Daily Star, Primark made payments to family members of the deceased and injured workers from the factory through local banks.
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“There are a very small number of claimants yet to receive compensation because either the individuals require a high level of support and/or the victims and/or their dependants have only very recently come forward,” the Star reported Primark as saying.
Just last week, the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and Social Accountability International (SAI) implored brands and retailers that had product in Rana and haven’t yet contributed to any relief funds, to pay up and help close the current funding gap for victims of the tragedy.
Primark said its payments were made according to the impact of the injury and the level of disability. For dependents of the deceased and unaccounted for workers, compensation was based on actuarial estimates of lost earnings.
Addressing why it has taken two years for these payments to be made, Primark said it wanted to ensure its approach to compensation was fair, rigorous and sustainable.
Primark said it is supporting the remaining 5 percent of victims or their dependents for whom payments are still outstanding and will continue to monitor victims’ welfare with regard to long-term injuries or loss of earnings.
