Heirs of four victims move German court

Karachi
Four heirs of the victims of Baldia factory fire tragedy have lodged a case for pain and suffering in the High Court of Dortmund, Germany, against company KIK — for which the Ali Enterprises manufactured garments — to demand payment of livelihood damages worth 30,000 Euros to each plaintiff family.
In a press conference held simultaneously in Karachi and Berlin, the representatives of National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) and Baldia Factory Fire Affectees Association said that German clothing brand KIK had refused to continue talks for final payment of compensation to heirs. This, they said, was tantamount of backing out of its promise to pay the remaining amount in terms of livelihood damages.
The heirs who have lodged the case in German court, Saeeda Khatoon, Mohammad Jabir, Abdul Aziz Khan and Mohammad Hanif, will be represented by Dr Remo Klinner.
Moreover, they revealed, 15 more heirs were planning to sue Italian audit firm RINA in a court in Milan. In this regard, the required documents will be deposited to the Italian embassy next week.
Besides, a case for acquisition of gratuities has also been filed with the compensation commissioner in Sindh and is being managed by Rathi Advocate and demanded that it be decided as soon as possible.
The representatives, including NTUF’s deputy general secretary Nasir Mansoor and the four plaintiffs were of the view that the demands of heirs were being pushed into the background by the government and the stakeholders concerned.
They lamented that despite court orders, DNA certificates of more than 23 martyred workers were yet to be issued and 17 of them had to be buried in the Mawach Goth graveyard without any identification.
They pointed out that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, after the tragedy when he had been the leader of opposition, had announced that Punjab government will pay Rs2 million to each bereaved family but the payment had still not materialised.
Similarly, they said, the Sindh chief minister had promised plots and government jobs for the heirs and this promise too had remained unfulfilled.
This is why, said the speakers, the NTUF and Baldia Factory Fire Affectees Association had decided to launch a big movement with the collaboration of local and international labour organisations on the second anniversary of Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza tragedy next month.
They demanded that the German brand KIK should be fulfil its pledge to announce payment of final compensation to the heirs and Italian audit company RINA should restart negotiations with them.