UK Correspondent :
British garment retailer Matalan has agreed to pay compensation to Rana Plaza victims.
The agreement was reached on Wednesday, a day before the July 31 deadline set by a group named ’38 Degrees’ to donate money to an UN-backed compensation fund.
The company, however, did not disclose the amount of its contribution to the fund.
Matalan was the only major British retailer not to have donated money so far for the victims of one of the world’s worst industrial disasters.
Several other European retailers including Primark, Asda Stores and H&M have already contributed to the fund.
To justify its refusal to donate until now, Matalan said that their relationship with one of the readymade garment factories in Rana Plaza had ended after an initial test period from February to March 2013 before the building collapsed in April, killing over a thousand readymade garment factory workers.
A Matalan spokesperson claimed the money earned from selling the clothes manufactured during that period had been donated for the rehabilitation of the victims’ families through the non-governmental organisation, BRAC.
But ’38 Degrees’ said the amount was ‘very small’ and collected thousands signatures in the past few days as a protest to push Matalan to pay $3 million as compensation.
After the company agreed to pay, Matalan’s Non Executive chairman Allan Leighton in a statement said, “We are very proud of the work we have been doing with BRAC on the ground in Bangladesh over the last few months.”
“Together, we have helped hundreds of people that have been injured or lost loved ones in the Rana Plaza tragedy and we are looking at ways to make sure this help continues. We have also made a donation to ILO,” he said.
On Wednesday, UK Labour Party’s Shadow International Development Team’s Secretary Jim Murphy and Minister Alison McGovern had also written to Matalan Managing Director Jason Hargreaves, urging the company to make the donation.
The target of the UN-backed fund is $40 million, which is still short by $20 million.
However, Primark has agreed to donate $8 million.
Over 1,100 workers were killed and at least 2,500 others injured in the Rana Plaza crash at Savar on the outskirts of capital Dhaka on April 24 last year.
Most of the victims were workers of five readymade garment factories housed in the high-rise building.
