Join workers and consumers around the world in a day of action on Thursday, April 24, 2014, to stand in solidarity with garment workers in Bangladesh.

One year after the Rana Plaza building collapse killed at least 1,138 people and injured more than 2,500 in the worst garment industry catastrophe in history, concerned citizens around the world will demand that The Children’s Place, Walmart, Benetton, and other apparel brands and retailers pay full and fair compensation to the victims of the Rana Plaza collapse. We will also call on Walmart to pay compensation to the victims of the Tazreen factory fire, which took place on November 24, 2012, and where Walmart was the largest customer. The fire killed 112 workers and was the deadliest fire in the Bangladesh garment industry. It’s time for Children’s Place and Walmart to take responsibility and to pay their fair share of compensation to the survivors and families who lost loved-ones.

It has been nearly a year since the Rana Plaza collapse and victims of this tragedy continue to suffer, struggling to cope with the trauma of the disaster and the tremendous financial burdens they now face. Many families have had to pull their young children out of school and send them to work to keep from starving while many of the injured workers have accumulated massive debts just to pay their hospital bills. Meanwhile, Children’s Place, which had an ongoing relationship with the largest factory in the building and whose clothing was found amid the rubble, has refused to pay the full $8 million it owes – less than half of CEO Jane Elfers’ $17 million salary and a drop in the bucket for a company whose 2013 profits exceeded $655 million.

In an effort to deflect public pressure, The Children’s Place and Walmart recently announced that they were making a small contribution to the ILO-sponsored compensation fund. But the amount that is being contributed falls far short of what the victims are owed. The Children’s Place gave just $450,000, which amounts to less than 6% of $8 million and less than $200 per affected family. Walmart paid in $1 million - less than $500 per family.  We are calling on Walmart to pay $16 million more to Rana Plaza victims and $5 million to the Tazreen victims.

In Europe, demonstrations are called for at Benetton stores. Benetton made $203 million in 2011 before the company went private, and yet they still haven't paid anything to the Rana Plaza victims.

On April 24th, join us in calling on The Children’s Place, Walmart and Benetton to pay the full amount they owe to the injured workers, families, and children who were orphaned by the Rana Plaza building collapse.

HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED:

1. Circulate this Facebook event page widely.

2. Plan a demonstration at a Children's Place, Walmart or Benetton store near you for April 24 and post the time, location and your contact information here on this Facebook event wall or email it to laborrights [at] ilrf.org. Visit http://orphansplace.com/ for materials for Children's Place actions and http://walmartdeathtraps.com/ for Walmart action materials.

Handy store locators:
http://www.childrensplace.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/AjaxStoreLocatorDisplayView
http://www.benetton.com/store-locator/
https://www.walmart.com/cservice/ca_storefinder.gsp

3. Join a demonstration near you. Check back on this page closer to April 24 for a list of actions.