Compensating the victims of Rana Plaza - what role for the OECD?

by emma — last modified 2014-06-24 12:07
Ahead of the OECD Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct that is being held on June 26 - 27 in Paris, OECD Watch and TUAC are holding a side event looking at the role of the OECD and national contact points in compensating Rana Plaza victims.

OECD Watch and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) have just released a new publication that outlines what the OECD and national contact points need to do in order to ensure the much needed USD40 million is raised for the victims and survivors of the Rana Plaza building collapse.

Ineke Zeldenrust from Clean Clothes Campaign will be joined on the panel by Dan Rees from the International Labour Organisation and Ben Vanpeperstraete from UNI Global Union.

The new publication calls on states through the national contact points (NCPs) to provide access to effective remedy.  TUAC and OECD Watch want the NCPs to make a collective commitment in their Statement  ‘One Year After Rana Plaza”, in line with their responsibilities under the proactive agenda, to work with brands linked to Rana Plaza, as well as brands with significant ties to Bangladesh, to resolve the funding crisis.  In addition they want NCPs to: 

  • call on those brands that have already made a donation to increase their financial contribution to the Trust Fund and to publicly disclose this contribution on the Rana Plaza Arrangement web site;
  • call on those brands that have not yet made a donation to make a proportionate contribution to the Trust Fund and to publicly disclose this contribution on the Rana Plaza Arrangement web site;
  • Call on brands to sign the Bangladesh Accord onFire and Building Safety;
  • Work with brands at national level to address human rights violations in the Textile and Garment Sector supply chain focusing in particular on the high risk issues of poverty wages and freedom of association. This work should build on the work already carried out by the French and Italian NCPs.

 

Read the new publication here.