Clothing manufacturer Benetton appears to be showing its true colours in the face of ongoing pressure to contribute to the fund for the victims of a factory disaster in which more than 1,100 people died.
The factory complex Rana Plaza in Bangladesh collapsed in April 2013. Benetton along with a number of other brands employed workers there to make their clothes.
Renewed pressure is building for Benetton to contribute $5m (£3.25m) to the compensation fund which has the backing of the UN’s International Labour Organisation.
The fund is just $9m short of the $30m required for full compensation for victims and families.
To date 5,000 injured workers and families of the deceased have received 40% of the money due to them. The fund has sufficient to provide them with 70%.
Primark is the biggest contributor, having provided $12m in total. Payments began more than a year ago.
Bu the Italian fashion brand has so far not contributed to the scheme, despite pressure from campaigners and even government ministers.
Instead it said it worked with another support scheme led by a local development agency, Brac, in order, it said, to move quickly to support those affected. It said it has helped 280 victims and families with medical needs and to start new businesses.
Critics are still trying to push Benetton, saying that work with Brac is not formal compensation.
Campaigners are also calling on retailers that have made only small donations, such as US chains Walmart and the Children’s Place, as well as the Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s Fund to contribute more to the compensation fund.
