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TUC calls on retailers to answer to MPs over Rana Plaza compensation

The TUC is calling on all UK retailers which source clothing from Bangladesh to attend a meeting in Westminster today (Tuesday) where they will be asked what they are doing to support the victims of the Rana Plaza factory collapse, that killed over 1,100 people in April last year. 

The meeting has been called by Alison McGovern MP, shadow minister for international development and vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ethics and Sustainability. It is being supported by the TUC and campaign organisation Labour Behind the Label.

It is six months since the International Labour Organisation-administered Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund was established to support the victims and their families. But the Fund is still £13m short of its target amount because many retailers who sell clothes made in Bangladesh on the UK high street have yet to contribute, says the TUC.

Commenting on the meeting TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “It is shocking that more than 2,000 workers injured in the tragedy along with the families who lost relatives last year still have not been paid all the compensation they are owed.

“This money is urgently needed to provide medical support and income to the victims. All companies which are making money from clothes made in Bangladesh have an ethical obligation to donate to the Fund – not just those who were sourcing goods produced at Rana Plaza.”

Anna McMullen from Labour Behind the Label said: “It is inexcusable that some UK brands like Matalan have yet to pay a penny into the ILO Rana Plaza Trust Fund to compensate the families of workers who died in the factory collapse, and the victims who now live with life changing injuries.

“We welcome the government’s intervention to call on UK companies to account for their lack of engagement with the Rana Plaza Trust Fund so far. The £13m still owed must be found. What message do we send to the world about how UK companies do business if, when disasters happen, UK brands fail to act responsibly?”

NOTES TO EDITORS:
- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk
- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews
- Congress 2014 will be held in the BT Convention Centre, Liverpool, from Sunday 7 September to Wednesday 10 September. Free media passes can be obtained by visiting www.tuc.org.uk/media-credentials and completing an online form. Applications must be in by noon on Wednesday 27 August. Any received later than that will be processed in Liverpool and will cost £75.

Contacts:
Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen   T: 020 7467 1248    M: 07778 158175    E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth    T: 020 7467 1372    M: 07717 531150     E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Tim Nichols   T: 020 7467 1337   M: 07808 761844   E: tnichols@tuc.org.uk

 
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