Still no justice for Rana Plaza victims on 2nd anniversary of tragedy

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Toronto – April 24, 2015 – UFCW Canada activists joined social justice allies in the heart of Toronto's financial district to mark the second anniversary of the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh where more than 1,100 workers were killed on the job.

Activists gathered for a peaceful demonstration to once again call on transnational retailers like Walmart to sign the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety and to pay their fair share to the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund, which was established to provide long-term assistance to the victims, and the families of the victims of the Rana Plaza tragedy. During the rally, activists also brought awareness to human and labour rights violations in Bangladesh that go beyond worker safety such as verbal abuse, forced overtime, denial of paid maternity leave, and failure to pay wages on time, some of which were highlighted in a recent report by Human Rights Watch entitled, "Whoever Raises Their Head, Suffers the Most': Workers' Rights in Bangladesh's Garment Factories."

More than 1,100 workers died in the building collapse with thousands more suffering debilitating injuries in what was the deadliest garment-factory tragedy in history. Companies such as Walmart refuse to sign the Accord, which would oblige them to use independent, third-party inspectors of their suppliers in Bangladesh to ensure tragedies such as the Rana Plaza disaster and more recently the building collapse in Mongla, Bangladesh never happen again.

"As activists, consumers, and as global citizens, we must continue to demand that companies sign the Accord and pay their fair share in compensating the victims and their families of this tragedy that occurred two years ago," says UFCW Canada National President Paul Meinema. "We need corporations to put people over profits and ensure that the safety and labour rights of workers is a top priority and concern for employers not only here at home, but globally as well."