Each worker terminated in export-oriented readymade garments (RMG), leather and footwear sectors in Bangladesh following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic will receive a monthly allowance of Tk 3,000 from the government for three months. The funds will come from €334 million that the European Union and the German government have earmarked for Bangladesh.
The funds would be distributed under the safety net programme for jobless workers, according to Bangla media reports.Each worker terminated in export-oriented readymade garments (RMG), leather and footwear sectors in Bangladesh following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic will receive a monthly allowance of Tk 3,000 from the government for three months. The funds will come from €334 million that the European Union and the German government have earmarked for Bangladesh.#
It was announced in April this year but it took five months to develop a guideline on how to distribute the money to affected workers.
Out of this, €113 million (€93 million in EU grant and €20 million in German grant) will provide cash assistance to workers adversely affected by the economic fallout of the pandemic, the EU had said in a statement.
The Bangladesh labour ministry recently issued a gazette notification about the guidelines for the same for the three export sectors.
It provided for an implementation committee headed by director general of the department of labour (DoL) while the programme would be executed under DoL with the support of factory owners.
The committee includes representatives from several industry associations. Labour rights groups, however, have opposed the committee and demanded inclusion of workers' representatives.
According to the guidelines, the respective factories will prepare the primary list of jobless workers and the trade bodies would scrutinize the list and send it to DoL. The implementation committee will approve the list while the beneficiary would receive benefit through bank accounts or mobile accounts.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)
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