By Syed Zain Al-Mahmood
DHAKA, Bangladesh--When Bithi Begum tried to go back to work
after a year's convalescence, she says she realized a harsh truth:
she was considered damaged goods.
"As soon as managers heard I had been in Rana Plaza, they turned
me away, " Ms. Begum said. "They think we're unfit, physically and
mentally."
Two years ago, the 20-year-old Bangladeshi seamstress survived
the ordeal of being trapped under the ruins of the Rana Plaza
factory complex near Dhaka. The disaster, which killed more than
1,100 people and injured some 3,000 more, focused global attention
on substandard conditions in Bangladesh's garment industry.
Bangladesh exports billions of dollars of garments annually to
brand-name retailers world-wide.
Following criticism from human-rights groups, international
retailers who source their products from Bangladesh set up two
separate safety programs to inspect and improve the country's
4,000-odd factories.
In the two years since the collapse, compensation has been slow
in coming and has been distributed unevenly, according to survivors
and families of the deceased. Ms. Begum says she has received just
95,000 takas ($1,230) as compensation so far.
"That's what they think my life is worth," she said. Ms. Begum
says she earned 9,000 takas a month as a seamstress before her
factory crumbled on April 24, 2013.
She worked on the seventh floor of the eight-story building, and
suffered multiple fractures in her right leg in the collapse when a
concrete slab fell on her. Doctors have operated twice, she said,
inserting a metal rod to keep the bones in place.
The injuries mean she may not be able to work a sewing machine
again. She applied for work as a quality checker, which doesn't
require operating a sewing machine.
The Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund, a fund set up in September
2013 to provide compensation to Rana Plaza survivors and victims'
dependents, has a $7 million shortfall, according to the
International Labor Organization, which chairs the fund. Experts
hired by the fund's steering committee, which includes
representatives from brands as well as labor groups, calculated
that around $30 million would be needed to provide adequate
compensation to more than 3,000 claimants.
Labor activists say the brands should do more. "For an industry
that is all about image, the garment brands are taking shockingly
long to do the right thing and close one of the most shameful
chapters in the history book of the global clothing industry," said
Jyrki Raina, of IndustriALL, an umbrella group of unions.
Brands say they are making voluntary contributions to help Rana
victims. VF Corp., owner of labels such as Wrangler and The North
Face, has donated $400,000 to the compensation fund, although the
company wasn't purchasing clothes from Rana Plaza factories, a
company spokesman said on Wednesday.
"Although we weren't sourcing from Rana at the time of the
tragic collapse, that doesn't diminish the role we can play in
joining others to help affected Bangladeshi workers and their
families," Craig Hodges, a VF spokesman, said.
Last week, the Italian retailer Benetton announced a payment of
$1.1 million to the fund. Benetton clothes had been manufactured in
a Rana Plaza factory shortly before the collapse.
Marco Airoldi, CEO of Benetton Group, said in a statement:
"Whilst there is no real redress for the tragic loss of life we
hope that this robust and clear mechanism for calculating
compensation could be used more widely."
Labor groups had called on Benetton to contribute $5 million.
"Unfortunately, the true colors of Benetton are now revealed," said
Ineke Zeldenrust from the Clean Clothes Campaign, a labor-advocacy
group.
Benetton says the company arrived at the $1.1 million figure
after an independent assessment based on the company's involvement
in Rana Plaza.
The International Labor Organization said nearly 3,000 survivors
and victims' families have been paid compensation so far. The
amounts vary according to the severity of the injury. According to
ILO documents, 95,000 takas amounts to the minimum compensation a
Rana survivor would receive.
Ms. Begum says she received a document from the claims committee
which showed she would receive no more than the minimum amount. She
believes she is entitled to more based on her level of
disability.
In the aftermath of the Rana Plaza collapse, some analysts
predicted an exodus of Western brands from Bangladesh. But
following a series of measures taken to improve working conditions,
many international companies opted to stay.
Bangladesh exported clothes worth $21 billion in 2013 and $24
billion in 2014. Reflecting the confident mood in Bangladesh, the
garment exporters' association has announced a target of $50
billion in clothing exports by 2020.
"The glass, to most people, would be more than half-full right
now," said Ahsan Mansur, director of the Policy Research Institute,
a Dhaka-based think tank. "But ultimately, the image of brand
Bangladesh will depend on how workers are treated."
Write to Syed Zain Al-Mahmood at zain.al-mahmood@wsj.com
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