Claims
The claims process established by the Tazreen Claims Administration Trust aims to ensure that all families who lost a loved one, and all survivors who suffered long term injury, will receive a payment that covers the financial losses and medical costs they have incurred as a result of the disaster.
Based on international standards enshrined in International Labour Organisation Convention 121, the process aims to provide a transparent, predictable and equitable system for calculating and distributing payments (referred to herein as “Awards”) to all eligible beneficiaries of the scheme.
The Dhaka-based staff of the TCA are responsible for implementing the scheme, which comprises a number of detailed stages including: identifying potential beneficiaries; processing claims; calculating and paying out compensation to the affected workers and families; opening bank accounts; distributing funds and provision of post award services, including ongoing medical care.
Anyone who is a dependant of a worker who was killed in the fire, or anyone who was injured as a result of the fire, is entitled to make a claim. Lawyers employed by the TCA will initially assess the validity of the claim. Once it is agreed that the claimant is eligible, an award will be calculated based on an agreed set of criteria, which are the same those developed for the Rana Plaza Arrangement.
For those that lost a relative in the fire the criteria include: their relationship to the deceased person; the income of the worker at the time of death (adjusted to today’s wage) and the age of the claimant (distinguishing among other things between minors and adults). For those injured during the fire a medical assessment will be carried out to determine the extent of the injury and the impact that injury has on the individual’s future ability to work.
Once a total award has been calculated for each deceased and injured person, TCA staff will check against government records and deduct any award already given to the claimant by the government or BGMEA. This is done to ensure the process can redress gaps in the government process for paying initial compensation amounts to recognised victims. Money or other in-kind benefits provided by NGOs will not be deducted.
A minimum award of will be awarded to every eligible claimant. The payments awarded to each eligible beneficiary can vary significantly, due to the very different nature of the claims cases, but each eligible claimant will be awarded a minimum of 100,000 BDT (1,280 USD).
In the case of deceased workers the final award will then be apportioned between all of their recognised dependants.
The document below provides a more detailed description of the different stages of the claims process, the formulas used to calculate awards and examples of the levels of payments that may be provided.