Nu har det gått ett halvår sedan en jättelik textilfabrik i Bangladesh rasade ihop — och har det blivit bättre för textilindustriarbetarna i världen?
Inte så värst mycket.
Dags att göra något?
Sedan några dagar, och några dagar till, pågår en kampanj, Clean Clothes Campaign, där vanliga människor (alla har vi ju kläder på oss) skriver såhär till de stora klädföretagen:
Dear [namn],
I am very concerned to hear from the Clean Clothes Campaign that over six months after the deadly fire at Tazreen and more than two months after the building collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, the families of the 1239 dead workers and estimated 2600 injured workers victims are still waiting for full and fair compensation. This is too long for people to wait to be compensated.
Don’t lag behind. Take the initiative and engage with trade unions to pay immediate relief and full and fair long term compensation for all the victims of the Tazreen fire and/or Rana Plaza building collapse. You should commit to paying compensation in a transparent and agreed upon process on the basis of international standards and best practices in Bangladesh covering loss of future earnings as well as damages, medical care and rehabilitation and educational fees for children of the deceased workers.
It’s time to pay. Victims should not suffer any more.
Yours sincerely,
[underskrift]
Det är superenkelt att skicka iväg ett sådant brev till flera mottagare — gör det här! Direkt!
Här är ett annat brev som handlar om arbetsvillkoren i fortsättningen. Skicka det också!
Här är lite bakgrundsinformation:
No More Broken Promises: demand compensation for fire and collapse survivors
On 24th April 2013, the floors and walls of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh came down, crushing over one thousand people to death. This was just five months after the Tazreen factory fire that killed 112 and left bodies so scarred they could not be identified.
These two recent horrific tragedies in Bangladeshi garment factories left an official death toll of 1239 people dead and thousands injured. These workers are owed compensation, but their debts are rising as brands fail to pay up. We’re telling brands: it’s time to pay. Don’t make the survivors suffer any more.
We welcome brands’ commitments to prevent further tragedies in Bangladesh factories by signing the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, but brands still need to pay compensation to workers.
Loss of income is devastating for families that relied on garment workers’ salaries. The stories of hardship are plenty. One woman told the media her 15 year old grand-daughter had only been working in one of the Rana Plaza factories for a month or so when she was killed by the rubble. She said that she had not been able to get any assistance from anywhere: ”We are so poor, I don’t know where to go for help.” Her granddaughter was, like many, the only member of her family who had work.
Although many companies have made statements to say they will offer relief to victims, the majority of the families of the deceased Rana Plaza workers have not received any financial support at all. Both the Rana Plaza victims and the Tazreen victims have no guarantee that they will receive the full and fair compensation for the loss of earning they are facing, a right which is embedded in ILO standards. Read what brands are saying about compensation for Tazreen and Rana Plaza victims.
The estimated long term compensation for Rana Plaza victims will be more than 54 million Euros (71 million USD). The compensation package for Tazreen victims has been calculated by the Bangladeshi trade unions, the global union IndustriALL and the CCC at 5.7 million US Dollars. These amounts are based on the calculation used by Bangladeshi and international trade unions after other tragedies and is based on ILO standards. Brands should pay 45% of the total amount, while the Bangladeshi government, the employers’ association in Bangladesh (BGMEA) and the employers should cover the remaining.
CCC calls all brands that have had orders in Rana Plaza and Tazreen to:
- Commit to paying immediate relief and full and fair compensation to the injured workers and families of the dead, in line with established practices and calculations proposed by the unions
- Engage with the Bangladeshi trade unions and organisations representing the victims as well as IndustriALL, the global trade union federation representing garment workers, to ensure all payments are done in a transparent and agreed upon process.
Read our full demands to buyers from Rana Plaza
CCC is calling on your support to seek justice for the Tazreen and Rana Plaza victims. Some brands have responded to the call for relief and compensation, but until all workers are fully compensated, no brand is off the hook. Brands can put pressure on other brands and the Bangladeshi government and owners to pay up and can set precedents to allow some dignity to the Tazreen and Rana Plaza victims.
Take action and tell all brands that placed orders from Tazreen and Rana Plaza to commit to paying full and fair compensation.
***
En extra sorglig sak är att CCC rapporterar om att H&M:s Conscious Collection inte alls är så ”medveten” när det gäller fabriksarbetarnas situation. Jag har köpt en hel del av deras barnkläder till pysselprojekt det senaste året, och egentligen förstår jag ju att de inte kan vara så rättvist producerade när de är så billiga, men att det skulle vara såhär illa … Nu får det bli ändring på det. Basta!