Dhaka – Workers and relatives of the Rana Plaza victims slammed the government and the owners for denying them the compensations though three and a half months have passed by since the complex crashed down.They observed a token hunger strike at the Shaheed Minar under the banner of Workers and Relatives Affected by Rana Plaza Building Collapse on the Eid day.
Rights activists, union leaders and leaders of the left-leaning parties also joined the demonstration expressing solidarity with the workers’ demands.
Many seriously injured workers are not getting the treatment as assured by the government and the owners, while the DNA-test of the dead bodies of about 300 workers is pending with the Dhaka Medical Hospital for an unreasonably long time, observed the workers and activists.
Bangladesh Garment Owners and Manufacturers Association (BGMEA) has also deprived the workers of the five factories housed in Rana Plaza of their due wages and compensation, they claimed.
Both the government and the BGMEA are also playing a hide and seek with the number of workers they are compensating and with the discharge of the aids came from various sources both from home and abroad, they added.
In his address, National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Port Prof Anu Muhammad said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has so far discharged a very little amount of aids to a very little portion of the workers and relatives that in no way can be claimed as compensation.
“The government and the owners must ensure the compensation based on the loss of income for a worker for the rest of the life – around Tk 48 lakh for the relatives of the dead workers and for the workers who have lost the ability to work,” he said.
Even – to abide by the ILO conventions – the compensation amounts to about Tk 30 lakh for an affected worker, he added.
“The property of the owners of the RMG units of the building must be confiscated by the government, not only to ensure the proper compensation to their workers with that money, but also to set an example for all the owners in the sector,” he added.
“And the compensation as well as the treatment of the injured workers must be done quicker. More than three months have already passed by. The government and the BGMEA must come up with a plan to discharge it in one month’s time,” said Anu.
Bangladesh Textile Garment Workers’ Federation President Mahbubur Rahman Ismile said most of the affected workers and their families are facing harassment in getting the compensation. There is no accountability in the process, he said.
The workers will not leave the streets until the demands are met.
Ajiron, a worker rescued after 16 hours of the collapse, said she had to leave the hospital she was admitted to, as the authorities charged her money.
“Although I had the document signed by a doctor on the spot, the people at the hospital said I was lying,” she said.
“I had not yet received anything from the government or the owners in these three months and 15 days. I’m living with the injuries. I even had to feed only on rice and water as my meals,” she said.
“The causes of the affected workers are not being listened to. The government is functioning for the rich… the government is not for us -workers,” said Ajiron.
The PMO office has so far discharged a little aid to the relatives of 654 workers killed in the collapse, ranging from Tk 2 lakh to Tk 3 lakh each.
The PMO office has also handed over compensation to the 24 victims who lost their limbs ranging from Tk 11 lakh to Tk 15 lakh.
With the dead of Monowar Hossain at Enam Hospital in Savar yesterday, the death toll now stands at 1,132.
More than 350 workers are still either missing or unidentified and their families have so far got nothing.
Many survivors will require long-term treatment, although they were released from their respective medical admittance – both in public and private hospitals.
About 50 among the critically injured are still getting treatments at the hospitals, including the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed in Savar.
The demonstration was also addressed by former president of the Communist Party of Bangladesh Manzurul Ahsan Khan, Prof Nasim Akhter Hossain of Jahangirnagar University, noted researcher and activist Rahnuma Ahmed and Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal general secretary Khalequzzaman. – UNB
