DHAKA: There was a meeting that took place last week in Geneva. A big meeting. An important one. It was one that had nothing at all to do with the situation in Syria. Did you hear about this meeting in Geneva?

Chances are, you didn`t. To say it was an under-reported story would be generous.

It was a meeting to work out compensation for the victims of the Rana Plaza disaster: the garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh that collapsed last April leaving over 1,100 dead, and another 2,000 injured.

You may remember the feelings of helplessness, of anger and, above all, of outrage that many of us in the global community felt as a reaction to the tragedy in Bangladesh at the time. Over 1,000 dead, with western manufacturers complicit.

Many questions were asked in its aftermath. How could the garment trade allow such an enormous industrial accident to happen in this day and age? How could we, the consumers who buy what the garment industry is selling to the tune of billions of dollars a year, allow this to happen with our sanction?

There were calls for boycotts and action to be taken. Indeed, the outrage and shame led many in the west to vow to change their shopping habits altogether.

Well, now, it`s five months later. The Rana Plaza disaster is off the front pages. It`s yesterday`s news. And after the grand promises of addressing their practises at the time of the tragedy, how many of the 29 implicated global companies invited to Geneva to discuss setting up a fund for the victims do you think attended? 29? 25? 20?

Try nine. Less than a third even bothered to show up, and only one, Ireland`s Primark, actually contributed to the fund. Skipping out? Walmart, Sears, Kmart, JC Penney, Disney, and Benetton, among others. Canada`s Loblaw, owner of the "Joe Fresh" label, was at the meeting. Good on them, you might say. Although they have yet to truly open up their chequebook, too.

And yes, the wheels of international justice do grind slowly. Big corporations may have different ideas and timeframes when it comes to compensation for the victims of the factory collapse in Bangladesh.

But one thing is abundantly clear, and you`ll forgive us for addressing the companies directly here:

    Dear corporate honchos, if there`s a meeting that deals with compensation for the people and families of those who were killed in a factory that made clothes for your fashion label, you need to show up to that meeting.

It doesn`t matter if you`re not sure where the process is going, or you claim you`ve made other arrangements for worker safety in Bangladesh, or, more cynically, the story is off the front page and the world has moved on. You might be banking that no one will notice if you`re not there. But it`s just bad PR. Actually, it`s more than bad PR, it`s morally wrong.

Here`s hoping the big garment companies stop dragging their feet on this issue. Here`s hoping those of us – that is to say, nearly all of us – who buy clothes made in the developing world start demanding more respect, rights and dignity for the workers that produce them. Most of all, here`s to justice and speedy compensation for the thousands who were injured or lost loved ones last April at Rana Plaza.

Really and truly, Walmart, Sears, Kmart, JC Penney, Disney, and Benetton, it`s the least that you can do.

Source: The Guardian
BDST: 0953 HRS, SEP 19, 2013
RS/GCP