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Walmart's response to Rana Plaza tragedy only adds insult to injury two years later

Two years ago, over 1,100 people lost their lives and thousands more suffered debilitating injuries in the Rana Plaza tragedy in Dhaka, Bangladesh - the deadliest garment-factory tragedy in history.

The pain and anguish of the tragedy is still felt today, as Walmart has yet to take appropriate measures such as signing the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety and to provide adequate compensation to the victims and their families.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, an Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was established. Companies who have signed onto the Accord would be obliged to use independent, third-party inspectors of their suppliers in Bangladesh to ensure tragedies never happen again. However, companies such as Walmart and Target tried to undermine the Accord by creating their own, self-regulating version.

Recently, activists rallied in the heart of Toronto's financial district to mark the second anniversary of the collapse. The demonstration renewed the call for transnational retailers such as Walmart to sign the Accord 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.

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. To date, only a handful of clothing brands and retailers have contributed to the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund.

A new report brought awareness to human and labour rights issues in Bangladesh going beyond worker safety such as verbal abuse, forced overtime, denial of paid maternity leave, and failure to pay wages on time.

Let's renew our fight for justice and dignity for workers not only here at home but around the world to ensure that tragedies such as Rana Plaza never happen again.

Send a message to Walmart, demanding them to pay their fair share for the victims of the Rana Plaza tragedy.