EIGHTEEN of the 19 cases filed on various charges in connection with the Rana Plaza collapse, which left at least 1,138 people, mostly apparel workers, dead and more than 2,400 people wounded, having been pending for 12 years brings to the fore the inertia that grips the legal and regulatory system when it comes to worker rights. The eight-storey Rana Plaza, which housed five apparel factories and a private bank, came crumbling down within seconds on Dhaka鈥檚 outskirts of Savar on April 24, 2013. One of the cases, a money suit filed by the widow of a deceased worker seeking damages from the building owner Sohel Rana and eight others, was dismissed in 2018 because of the plaintiff鈥檚 absence from the hearing. In the process, the fight for justice, fair compensation and accountability continues to remain stalled because of delays in proceedings, legal loopholes and a somewhat poor justice delivery system. The 18 cases, filed in connection with death, injury, the violation of labour rights, breaches of the building code and compensation claims have still been pending in courts.
Three of the cases were filed on criminal charges, two by the state over homicide caused by negligence and building code violation and a murder case filed by the widow of a deceased worker. Eleven of the cases filed by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments in connection with labour law violation have been stuck. Whilst warrants for arrests are expected in four of the cases on April 30, the issuance of public notice has been pending in four cases and hearing in three cases have not yet been posted for any date. Three public interest litigation writ petitions that Ain O Salish Kendra, the Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust and two lawyers filed over compensation and justice have been pending for more than a decade. A suo moto rule of the High Court has had the same fate as that of the three writ petitions. Proceedings in the principal homicide case, which has 41 named accused, have made little progress. Whilst only the building owner has been behind bars, most other accused, including the factory owners and officials, have either been enlarged on bail or been absconding. Such a situation warrants that the judiciary should prioritise the issues to uphold worker rights as the issues left to lie over would only harm accountability in the industrial sector.
There has been significant improvement in the apparel sector in terms of safety issues post the Rana Plaza disaster, at a great cost though. Yet, there has been a lot more for the authorities to ensure justice to improve the situation.