11 July 2016 Survivors and survivors of the Tazreen factory fire finally compensated after four years Tazreen factory. Photo:© FEMNET e.V.Berlin. Through the Foundation for the Compensation of the Tazreen Victims, all workers and survivors received their compensation payment in June 2016. The Clean Clothes Campaign and the International Labor Rights Forum welcome this development. On 24 November 2012, a fire broke out at the Tazreen Fashions textile factory in Bangladesh, killing 113 workers and injuring nearly 200. Only three years later, in September 2015, the Tazreen Claims Administration Trust (TCA) was finally established on the basis of an agreement between C&A, the C&A Foundation, IndustriALL Global Union, and the Clean Clothes Campaign. $2.5 million was paid into a fund to cover compensation payments from the companies that supplied Tazreen Fashions. The C&A Foundation and the Li Fung Foundation each provided $1 million. The German company KiK, Walmart and EI Corte Ingles paid significantly lower amounts. Other companies that also had clothing made by Tazreen, such as Dickies, Disney, Edinburgh Wollen Mill, Karl Rieker, Piazza Italia, Sears, Soffe (by Delta Apparel) and Teddy Smith, did not participate in the compensation of the victims at all. “It is and remains staggering that most of the companies that had clothing produced at Tazreen are not aware of any responsibility and do not contribute to the compensation payments. This case highlights the urgent need to introduce liability and due diligence obligations under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Walmart – for whose shops most of the clothes produced by Tazreen were destined – paid only US$250,000,” said Laura Ceresna-Chaturvedi, Rapid Action Coordinator of the Clean Clothes Campaign. Through the Tazreen Claims Administration Trust, a total of $2.17 million was paid to 582 family members of the 103 dead and 10 missing workers and to the 174 workers injured to date. It is now important to ensure further medical care for workers who are still suffering from physical and psychological consequences. Therefore, $350,000 is to be paid to another foundation in Dhaka, which is currently being established to allow workers from the Tazreen and Rana Plaza disasters to receive medical treatment and referrals to specialists. The compensation process is complete, but the struggle of the Tazreen victims continues. The bereaved demand that those responsible for the deaths of their relatives be held accountable and they are still waiting for the conviction of Delwar Hossain, the owner of Tazreen Fashions. The Clean Clothes Campaign will continue to support them in their struggle until they experience justice. Detailed figures and more information can be found on the website of the Tazreen Claims Administration Trust: http://tazreenclaimstrust.org/. Contact person: Laura Ceresna, Rapid Action Coordinator of the Clean Clothes Campaign at INKOTA, Tel.: +49 (0)30-42 08 202-52, E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Press release of the campaign for clean clothing from 11.07.2016
