Has Matalan finally paid its dues into Rana Plaza compensation fund?...Or not?

I was going to post the urgent request from a colleague below tonight but it would appear from here that Matalan has finally done the "decent thing" (we think but let us get full details). Why they took so long and have damaged their brand by doing so is beyond me.

"Hi everyone
Can you please take 5 minutes to help?
 
We’ve got a day to turn this round – could you phone Matalan today and tell them to pay into the Rana Plaza compensation fund?
 
They are refusing to pay into the fund which was set up after the collapse of Rana Plaza. Their clothes (papaya jeans labels found in the rubble) were made at Rana Plaza. According to the Fund managers Matalan owe £3m to compensate the victims. Their excuse for not contributing is that they are working with an NGO called BRAC. Whilst accepting that BRAC does good work on poverty alleviation, etc, that will not compensate the families of the 1,129 who were killed or the more than 2,500 who were injured: some will never work again.....

Some more background:
38 Degrees campaign https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/page/content/phone-matalan
Matalan statement http://www.matalan.co.uk/corporate/bangladesh-update
Label Behind the Label http://www.labourbehindthelabel.org/urgent-actions/item/1243-why-matalans-response-is-not-good-enough

Roll of Retail Shame: River Island, Matalan, Bench, Bank Fashion, Peacocks, Jane Norman, Republic and Mexx.

I've just sent an email via the TUC Going to Work website to the shameful 8 UK retailers who have refused to sign the international "Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh".

I am sure that most people will remember the Rana Plaza building collaspe in April when over 1200 workers were crushed to death.

"The Accord commits companies to fund an independent safety inspection body that will involve workers in the process, through their unions, and to make long term deals with suppliers, offering more secure employment and training for workers. As such it represents a big deal for Bangladeshi workers".

The website has some clever software by which you can email the Shameful 8 and ask them to sign the Accord. There is a standard message you can send but you can also personalise it which may prove more effective. This is what I sent :-

"Dear Sir/Madam

I am a Councillor in the London Borough of Newham and I have also worked in Tower Hamlets for the past 20 years. Both boroughs have large Bangladesh communities.

I am horrified that your company has not signed the UNI accord and you are exploiting workers in Bangladesh and putting them at risk by making your clothes in potential death traps.

I understand that you are a private company but I will be contacting the Pension funds of Newham and Tower Hamlets Council to see if they have any investments in your company. The reputational damage and risk to your brand by not signing the Accord is huge.

I hope you reconsider your immoral and economically damaging decision".

Please click here to send your own message and encourage the sharing of this information. Also next time you go shopping just think about these brands and remember the rows of dead and disfigured bodies you saw on TV after the collapse. If your friends or family wear clothes from those stores who refuse to sign up to the Accord just remind them of the true cost of cheap fashion.... River Island, Matalan, Bench, Bank Fashion, Peacocks, Jane Norman, Republic and Mexx.

The President of the Bangladeshi National Garment workers Federation Amirul Haque Amin is speaking tomorrow at the start of the TUC Congress.

Workers Memorial Day - The cost of cheap clothes is paid for in blood & why we are all guilty

Tomorrow is Workers Memorial Day (WMD). An international day of remembrance for those who have been killed in accidents at work or who have died of work related ill health.

As I type this rescuers are still trying to save workers trapped for days in the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The BBC report that at least 336 people have died and 600 are missing.

WMD is also a campaigning day to fight for the living as well as remember the dead.

We all have to take responsibility for the dreadful events in Dhaka. The ridiculous cheap prices for clothes at discount stores such as Primark or Matalan is paid for in blood. Shoppers need to understand this and demand responsible and accountable ethical sourcing.

But the problem is wider than this. No doubt the middle class John Lewis brigade will be shaking their heads in disgust at the thought of all these chavs buying their cheap clothes - while at the same time their pension and insurance policies are profiting from the world wide exploitation of the same workers.

Pension trustees need to raise their game and make sure that the companies they invest in have pro active and vigorous supply chain inspection regimes and that all their sub contractors truly respect workers rights and safety. 

We also need to make sure that that the huge contract pension and insurance funds that don't have any trustee oversight are brought into the responsible investment fold. If you pay into any product that invests in any part of this supply chain you can't wash your hands of your responsibilities as a owner and a beneficiary of what is done in your name.

Why don't we make UK companies and investors legally responsible for the reckless mass deaths of companies they invest in as they are for the manslaughter of workers they directly employ in the UK? 

Also, before we get too smug, don't forget the 20,000 plus Brits who die prematurely every year in this country because of their work.

Check the TUC website for list of local events to mark Workers Memorial Day.