Employment injury scheme for workers soon, says PM
BSS
Seeking active cooperation of the owners and workers for introduction of a long-term and sustainable employment injury scheme, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the government would launch the scheme soon to provide more support to the workers, reports BSS. We want to introduce employment injury scheme in Bangladesh soon to give more assistance to the workers and we hope that the owners and the workers organisations would work more sincerely in this regard, she said.
The prime minister was addressing a function at her office on Thursday on the occasion of the distribution of cheques for financial assistance among the successors of the workers who were killed in accidents or died as well as their meritorious children.
Sheikh Hasina said the current Bangladesh Labour Law has a provision for giving proper compensation if any worker dies or loses working capability due to any accident or disease.
But a huge amount (of money) is needed to give compensation in case of major accident and weve realized it from recent incidents in the garment sector ... the solution of this problem is to introduce a long-term and sustainable employment injury scheme, she said.
The premier said the government has already started work to introduce the employment injury scheme for the workers. In this case, the German government and ILO are providing financial and technical assistance, she said.
Sheikh Hasina said the representatives of the government, owners and workers have already gathered experiences in this regard by visiting the Employment Injury Scheme in Germany.
In the light of this experiences, we want to introduce employment injury scheme in Bangladesh soon and we think, if we could implement it, then workers would get more assistance, she said.
The prime minister called upon the employers to be more sympathetic towards the workers for further boosting production.
I would like to tell the owners to be more sympathetic and look after the wellbeing of those who increase production by keeping operative the mills and factories by giving labour, she said.
Sheikh Hasina also urged the workers to be more sincere in keeping the mills and factories operational through which the arrangement for their income is made.
State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu presided over the function, while Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Labour and Employment Ministry Begum Monnujan Sufian also spoke.
Labour and Employment Secretary Michael Shipar delivered the welcome address.
Spelling out her governments various measures for ensuring welfare of the workers, the premier said whenever Awami League came to power, it established the rights of the working class people and ensured peace, production and development.
One of our goals is to protect the interest and ensure the welfare of the working class people who are contributing directly to production and development, she said. Sheikh Hasina said the Awami League has been working for the welfare of the common people. Were pursuing politics for the welfare of the farmers and working class people, she said.
Pointing out that no country could be developed without industrialization, the premier said the government is very much active in ensuring peace and production in the mills and factories.
