Human cost of cheap clothes – Firms still ignore family victims

(Reuters/Andrew Biraj)

Roughly twelve clothing firms linked to Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza factory, which collapsed two years ago killing over 1,100 people, are yet to offer a single penny into a fund for the families of victims who lost their lives in the disaster.

As the second anniversary of the tragedy draws ever closer, pressure is mounting on the predominantly European and American firms to pay their dues.

The eight-story building in Dhaka, home to several clothing factories, collapsed in May 2013. In what has been described as one of the worst industrial disasters in modern history, 1,138 people lost their lives and 2,000 were injured.

The Donors Trust Fund, supported by the United Nation’s International Labor Organization (ILO), was founded specifically to compensate victims of the catastrophe.

Sums offered to people will be dependent on circumstances, such as the number of children they have and the salaries earned by those who lost their lives.