האגודה הישראלית לחקר יחסי עבודה

to the families of the workers killed in the horrific blaze and those who suffered injuries as long-term compensation for their loss of income and rehabilitation.

On September 11, 2012, 259 workers were killed and 57 others injured in a horrific fire at the Ali Enterprises garment factory in Baldia Town.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) announced in a press release that an agreement of $5 million has been reached to compensate the victims of the accident. It said the agreement had been reached because of the ILO’s facilitation and coordination of consultations during a recent mission to Pakistan from July 25 to August 5.

The ILO said on the requests of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and the Pakistani Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, it had been enabling talks with the German retailer KiK, IndustriALL Global Union and the Clean Clothes Campaign since May 2016 to arrive at the compensation arrangement, in accordance with the ILO’s Employment Injury Benefits Convention 121.

The victims of the Ali Enterprises fire were receiving some payments from public social security schemes in Pakistan to compensate for their loss of earnings and medical care as per the Sindh Province Employees’ Social Security Act.

KiK, which was Ali Enterprises’ main customer, has already paid $1 million in emergency compensation in December 2012.

As a result of the recent discussions, KiK voluntarily agreed to pay an additional $5.15 million to fund the gap to top up the statutory benefits due from the Sindh Province Employees’ Social Security Institution to meet the requirements of the Convention 121.

Labour support organisations and trade unions campaigning for the justice for victims too confirmed the development.

Advocate Faisal Siddiqi and other labour leaders, including Karamat Ali of the Executive Director of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Nasir Mansoor of the National Trade Unions Federation, and two affected family members, Saeeda Khatoon and Nazia Riaz, said the compensation money included the $250,000 margin for a fluctuation in costs, meaning that $4.9 million will go to the affected families.

A mechanism for the payment would be devised by the provincial and federal governments. They also said KiK had signed a memorandum of understanding with PILER in December 2012 after lengthy discussions and consultations with the support of international campaign partners like including Clean Clothes Campaign, IndustriALL Global Union and European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights.

The $1 million initially provided by the German company as urgent relief was distributed among the victims families through a judicial commission set up by the Sindh High Court under the supervision of Justice (retd) Rahmat Hussain Jafery.

They said that under the memorandum with PILER, KiK had agreed to provide a long-term compensation amount, but was reluctant to do so.

However, the international campaign partners launched a campaign which resulted in the new agreement.

Karamat Ali reiterated the demands of the labour organisations to implement an effective labour inspection mechanism in light of the joint action plan chalked out in consultation with the ILO after the incident in 2012.

He said the federal government should declare September 11 as an annual national day for workers’ safety. “We also demand that the government should buy the building of the Ali Enterprise factory and convert it into a labour community centre or a training centre,” he added.

“An effective occupational health and safety system at factory and shop levels under the Factories Act should be made in each province.”

In its statement, the ILO said all parties are pleased with the agreement and look forward to working together at the national level for a tripartite-plus process to pay the additional periodical payments to the victims starting at the beginning of 2017.

At the same time, stakeholders called for more robust social insurance schemes in Pakistan and a pressing need to improve garment factory safety and inspection procedures as well as compliance with social security laws to prevent another such tragedy from occurring.

The factory fire at Ali Enterprises represents one of the most deadly accidents in the garment sector, along with those such as the Rana Plaza collapse and the Tazreen factory fire in Bangladesh.

Gerd Müller, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, said, “Our textiles partnership is making a difference. and it is doing so in a totally new way. What had not been possible in four years of controversy between the parties has now been achieved through our mediation work and will provide tangible assistance to the victims and bereaved family members of the terrible fire at the Ali Enterprises textile factory in Pakistan. In other words, the environmental and social standards that we have jointly drawn up are not just a piece of paper but are leading to concrete improvements in the living and working conditions of garment workers in factories on the ground.”

Gilbert Houngbo, the Deputy Director General of the ILO, said, “It is satisfying that the ILO facilitated resolution to the long standing discussions on compensation for workers around the fire of the Ali Enterprises is now completed. The ILO believes that significant further investment is needed to improve the situation of workers in Pakistan in the garment and other sectors, including the effective access to employment injury benefits. We reiterate that good practices in the world of work can only continue to benefit both employers and workers. The ILO would like to thank all parties for their cooperative and constructive approach in this matter.”

Patrick Zahn, the CEO of KiK Textilien und Nonfood GmbH, said, “We welcome that all the parties involved on an international level have now finally come to an agreement that will benefit those affected by the Ali Enterprises factory fire. With our financial contribution, we have taken over responsibility for the victims on a voluntary basis going beyond national requirements. This was truly important to us. We are grateful for the support of many parties in the past months and years, among them the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, which has enabled constructive talks within our Partnership for Sustainable Textiles. We especially thank the ILO for its thorough fact-finding and its recommendations aligning the manifold expectations.”

Jyrki Raina, the general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, said, “Finally, on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the Ali Enterprises factory fire, the injured survivors and families of those killed in the Ali Enterprises fire can look forward to proper compensation. We commend KiK for agreeing to fund compensation that meets international standards and our thanks go to all the parties that have worked hard to produce this agreement. Now we must fight for a safer garment industry in Pakistan so that this terrible tragedy is never repeated.”

Published by Daily The News on Sep 12, 2016

Original Source