Matalan

[MissFM]

Sorry, I meant to post this a week ago but life intervened, so it's now a progress report. Still of concern, though:

On Saturday morning, hundreds of 38 Degrees members visited Matalan stores across the country - determined to get proper compensation paid to the victims of the Rana Plaza factory disaster. [1]

Together we managed to cover most of Matalan's 220 stores around the UK - handing out leaflets and delivering letters to store managers. We asked for Matalan to pay fair compensation for the 1,130 who died, the thousands who were injured, and the families whose lives have been turned upside down.

We created a real stir. Many Matalan customers shared our concerns and took them up with staff inside the stores. We were in the news up and down the country. [2] Matalan HQ clearly felt the heat.



We pinned posters to our clothing, talked to shoppers, and submitted about 5 letters to the Manager.
Joe, Southampton

We had interesting and friendly conversations with most customers we approached - some already knew about the campaign, others hoped to go online to sign up and encourage Matalan to be more open with their commitment.
Jane, Edinburgh

It was great to feel we were doing something to make a difference and let the retailers know they can’t get away with things – people are watching them.
Catherine, Chester

Together, we've made sure Matalan has felt the full force of people-power. As well as Saturday's events, over 100,000 of us have signed the petition. [3] We've used twitter, facebook, and phone calls to pile on the pressure. We've been featured in dozens of news bulletins and newspaper articles. [4]

Thanks to our campaigning, Matalan have now paid into the compensation fund. [5] We still don't know how much - they're refusing to say. But we've sent them a pretty clear message that we won't settle for a token amount.

Within the next few days, the officials in charge of the compensation fund are likely to publish an update of how much money they've raised in total. [6] When we see this update, we should be able to work out how much Matalan have put in - whether Matalan like it or not! At that point we can decide together what to do next.

In the meantime, let's celebrate all we've achieved so far. For over a year, Matalan had been refusing to pay any compensation at all. Even calls and letters from the UK government wouldn't make them budge. [7] But working together, 38 Degrees members have already ensured that more money goes to the victims.

That's no mean feat. And it's a great example of how, when we work together, we can challenge big and powerful companies.

The office team will be back in touch as soon as there's an update on the size of Matalan's contribution. For now, thank you for all you’ve done. Let's keep working together.


Susannah, Maddy, David, Laura and the whole 38 Degrees team




NOTES:
[1] 38 Degrees blog: Matalan: Day of action:
http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2014/08...day-of-action/
38 Degrees blog: Matalan’s statement and expert rebuttal:
http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2014/07...pert-rebuttal/
[2] Western Morning News: Campaigners to protest at Matalan stores in Exeter and Truro on Saturday:
http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/...ail/story.html
Radio Jackie: Thousands to take to the stores later in protest:
http://news.radiojackie.com/2014/08/...-later-in.html
[3] 38 Degrees: Matalan: Pay your fair share of compensation to the survivors of the Rana Plaza disaster:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/page...ay-up#petition
[4] The Guardian: Matalan fails to contribute to Rana plaza trust fund as deadline looms:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/...aza-trust-fund
The Telegraph: Matalan criticised over refusal to pay into Rana Plaza compensation fund:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...t-Matalan.html
[5] The Independent: Matalan donates to Rana Plaza fund for victims of collapsed Bangladesh clothing factory:
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...y-9638971.html
[6] Rana Plaza Coordination Committee: Donors who have publicly declared their donation to the Rana Plaza Trust Fund:
http://www.ranaplaza-arrangement.org/fund/donors
[7] The Guardian: UK Government tells retailers to pay up in Rana Plaza compensation battle:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/...ion-bangladesh

[MissFM]

Re: Matalan

Update:

£60,000. It looks like that's what clothing giant Matalan have paid in official compensation to the survivors of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. [1]

38 Degrees members joined workers' rights campaigners last week to ask for £3m. [2] After all, Matalan make annual profits of over £100m, they sourced clothes from Rana Plaza, they never did safety checks on the building, and other brands have paid up. [3]

So if the £60,000 is right, it doesn't seem good enough. But there’s a case for optimism. First, that’s £60,000 more than the official compensation fund had a week ago. Matalan weren’t planning to pay out at all, and together we changed that. We put Rana Plaza back in the news. [4]


And over 100,000 of us gave Matalan’s bosses and PR team a hard week. We flyered outside 216 stores, flooded their Facebook and Twitter pages, crashed their customer service line and grilled them face-to-face at their HQ. [5] We made headlines all over the country. It was brilliant to be part of.

Every penny for the victims and survivors of this terrible disaster is good news. £60,000 would be a victory. But not a complete victory.

So let’s make it clear to Matalan that they’re not walking away smelling of roses. This has tarnished their brand and hurt their reputation with customers and the public. If tens of thousands of us email their bosses directly now, we can make that clear.

Emailing Matalan probably won’t make them donate any more - but it’ll cement their discomfort, and make them think twice in future about their responsibilities to their workers. Please click the button to email Matalan now:


SEND AN EMAIL


Last week made me proud to be a 38 Degrees member. Together we work on issues from privatisation in the NHS to local library closures, from government data sell-offs to climate change. And now corporate responsibility for far-off tragedies. We win, lose and draw together. If this week we’ve won £60,000 for the survivors of the Rana Plaza tragedy, that’s a good thing.


So with pride (and still some anger at Matalan). Thank you for being involved,

Susannah, Maddy, Amy, Ali, Megan, Rachel, Laura and the 38 Degrees team

NOTES:
[1] Labour Behind the Label: Cheap clothes giant Matalan asked to pay UN backed scheme £3m donates only £60,000 representing just £50 to each family of a worker killed:
http://www.labourbehindthelabel.org/...-plaza-victims
[2] Labour Behind the Label: Matalan Pay Up! Campaign FAQ: http://www.labourbehindthelabel.org/...ay-up-campaign
[3] Guardian: Primark to pay £6m more to victims of Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...aza-bangladesh
[4] The Guardian: Matalan fails to contribute to Rana plaza trust fund as deadline looms:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/...aza-trust-fund
The Telegraph: Matalan criticised over refusal to pay into Rana Plaza compensation fund:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...t-Matalan.html
[5] 38 Degrees blog: Matalan: Almost there?
http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2014/07...-almost-there/
38 Degrees blog: Day of Action:
http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2014/08...day-of-action/

Doesn't do it for me! Stick on a couple of noughts and maybe it would go some way towards convincing that there is a will to right the wrongs...aw:

[debtout]

Re: Matalan

It's nice and encouraging to see people still standing up for justice and human rights in a world that is fast falling apart.