האגודה הישראלית לחקר יחסי עבודה

Ali Enterprises factory in Karachi that killed at least 255 people in 2012.

The sum will come on top of the $1m KiK paid out in late 2012 in the wake of the incident, the company said.

“KiK has voluntarily taken on responsibility for those affected, because this aid was a real concern for us,” chief executive Patrick Zahn said in the statement published on the firm’s website.

The firm said the final compensation figure was agreed after months of talks with victims’ representatives, the International Labour Organisation, the German development ministry and the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) — which fights for improved working conditions in the garment industry.

In its own statement, the CCC labelled the agreement a “landmark compensation arrangement”.

“It is a day of respite for the victims’ families as their cries have been heard,” said Saeeda Khatoon, vice president of the Ali Enterprises Factory Fire Affectees Association, in the CCC statement.

“We know that our nearest and dearest will never come back, but we hope that this kind of tragedy will never ever happen again.”

The fire was one of a series of industrial accidents in recent years that have prompted Pakistan to review its industrial safety arrangements.

After the incident, the European Parliament told big brands to re-examine their supply chains in Pakistan and demanded the creation of a new effective and independent system to monitor factories.

A judicial review into the blaze found that a lack of emergency exits, poor safety training, closely-packed machinery and the failure of government inspectors to spot the faults all contributed to the heavy death toll.

In January, the federal government acknowledged that the country lacked specific legislation to protect workers.

Published by Daily Dawn on Sep 13, 2016

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