Two years after the Rana Plaza disaster, which caused the death of 1,133 garment workers, the government in Bangladesh has finalized rules that will enable a welfare fund for labor.

In fact, WWD reports that the government made the announcement after negotiating the conditions with officials of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. “Garment factory owners will give 0.03 per cent of their total export earnings, which would be approximately $8 million per year, to the Bangladesh Labor Welfare Foundation," explained Shahidullah Azim, Vice President of the BGMEA, adding that the amount would go up in the future, as the industry is expected to grow from the $24.5 billion in 2014 to a target of $50 billion in 2021. “The money will be used for the workers as well as money that will be available for compensation in the case of injury or death.”

Worker compensation has been an on-going controversial matter in Bangladesh, an issue which has been emphasized by the recent $1.1 million compensation of The Benetton Group — the company produced garments in the aforementioned factory — which was considered to be insufficient in regards to the lasting damaging impact of the Rana Plaza disaster.

Finally, Azim mentioned that both the Accord and the Alliance, two groups of global retailers and brands, have plans to make the OSH (Occupational Safety and Health) committees a part of their agenda in 2015. In this way, the trade unions or the participation committee at the factories, could finally have their long-awaited voice and impact on their working conditions. More on it as the story breaks.