Action Plan Development for Rana Plaza victims

Abu Baker :: Stakeholders in Bangladesh’s garment industry have developed strategies to strengthen the rehabilitation of garment factory workers and their families affected by the Rana Plaza building collapse.

Delegates at an information sharing session on Saturday 14^th September in Dhaka were presented the results of a needs assessment of more than 2,200 affected people. These will guide future rehabilitation work.

This initiative was supported by the Promotion of Social and Environmental Standards (PSES), a joint project of the governments of Bangladesh and Germany, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. PSES, in collaboration with International Labour Organization (ILO) engaged Action Aid Bangladesh to carry out the needs assessment.

The strategies focus on three key areas: health and rehabilitation; livelihoods, skills development and employment; and education justice and empowerment. Responsibility for implementation will be shared among members of the government, employers, trade unions, NGOs, civil society bodies, international buyers and research units.

“We will be working in close cooperation with industry associations and organizations to ensure reintegration of victims and injured workers who have acquired disabilities due to this incident,” said Olaf Handloegten, Country Director, GIZ.

Tariq-ul-Islam, Secretary, Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, Government of Bangladesh added, “The government has already paid compensation to the families of 782 deceased workers in the last 100 days and payment for other commitments are underway.”

ILO Country Director, Srinivas Reddy, said, “This needs assessment will be used to guide our continuing response.  Bringing the range of involved organizations together for well-coordinated rehabilitation efforts will avoid duplication and ensure coverage.”

Country Director of ActionAid Bangladesh, Farah Kabir, stressed, “We need to implement these commitments as soon as possible.”