TUAC - TRADE UNION ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE OECD

27/06/2014

After 428 days since the collapse of Rana Plaza, the Donors Trust Fund was still lacking US$23 million, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) announced days before the OECD Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct.

Only US$17 million have been contributed to the Fund thus far, in spite of the estimated US$40 million needed to ensure that all those affected receive full compensation.

TUAC strongly welcomes the statement released by seven OECD Government Ministers - Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom - calling on companies to "donate generously to the [Rana Plaza Donor] Trust Fund, either for the first time or with a second contribution to come to an appropriate amount."

TUAC calls on Belgium, Canada, Poland, Turkey and the United States, all of which have brands linked to Rana Plaza and Bangladesh, to do the same.

As the statement was released, the UK Secretary of State for International Development, Alan Duncan, announced that he had written to all UK brands associated with Rana Plaza calling on them to make immediate and significant payments into the Trust Fund.

Prior to the start of the Forum, TUAC and OECD Watch held a side-event on Compensating the victims of Rana Plaza - What role for the OECD and the National Contact Points?  The event, attended by a number of government and OECD representatives, explained the funding crisis and urged governments make a statement at the upcoming Ministerial calling on their brands to pay up. They also released a joint submission, which can be downloaded here.

Final statement on compensation Rana Plaza victims

We are pleased to inform you that the following 7 governments agreed to the statement on compensation for Rana Plaza: France, Italy, Denmark, UK, Spain, Germany and The Netherlands.

Governments strongly recommend International Companies contribute to Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund

• Commemorating the victims of the Rana Plaza collapse which shocked the world on the 24th of April 2013;
• Acknowledging the major efforts of the international community, sourcing brands and retailers, the ILO, the EU,  the governments, the employers and many local stakeholders in Bangladesh for providing assistance to the victims;
• Welcoming the establishment of the Rana Plaza Donors Trust fund for compensation for victims, while unfortunately noting that the Trust fund needs  $ 40 mln to fully compensate the victims, but has only $ 17 mln in stock so far, nearly half of which has been given by one company alone;
• Acknowledging the registration of claims, the agreed procedure and the start of compensation payments by the Trust fund;
• Acknowledging  the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and the efforts made by its signatories towards its implementation and noting the Accord Communiqué (7th March 2014) which  invites all of its signatory companies, irrespective of whether they had any sourcing links to Rana Plaza, to also contribute to the Trust Fund;
• Appreciating that several international companies  that sourced in Rana Plaza, and even companies that did not source in Rana Plaza, donated generously to the Trust fund, while regretting that other companies, some of which have been sourcing at Rana Plaza, didn’t contribute at all or not enough;
• Recognizing that the international companies’ contributions are voluntary; and
• Noting that the lack of compensation for the victims weaken the improvements realized up to now in Bangladesh;

We therefore firmly recommend all companies that sourced in Rana Plaza donate generously to the Trust fund, either for the first time or with a second contribution to come to an appropriate amount.
Finally we also urge the Government of Bangladesh and the BGMEA to increase their contribution and ensure their public accountability.

Paris, June 26, 2014

Lilianne Ploumen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, The Netherlands
Arnaud Montebourg, Minister for the Economy, Industrial Renewal and Digital Affairs, France
Mogens Jensen, Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation, Denmark
Dr. Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
Alan Duncan, Minister of State for International Development, United Kingdom
Federica Guidi,  Minister for Economic Development, Italy
Jaime García-Legaz, Secretary of State for Trade, Spain

Source: http://oeso.nlvertegenwoordiging.org/nieuws/2014/juni-2014/final-statement-on-compensation-rana-plaza-victims.html