While the government is incessantly increasing tax and VAT on ordinary people and more and more people are going under the poverty line, the announcement from BGMEA that they will provide ration to the garments workers would surely provide some relief to the poorer sections of society. The announcement came after the four-point demand from the workers which includes food support, healthcare, housing, and education facilities for the workers and their families. The government should make special budgetary allocation every year for the welfare of the workers.
It was reported on May Day that 87 percent of the country’s more than six crore labourers have to work without any legal and social protection. Usually vulnerability stems from the informal nature of jobs where workers are not provided with appointment letters, end-of-service benefits, insurance coverage or safe workplaces. Consequently, workers remain in a vicious cycle of low income and low productivity and stay below the poverty line. As per the law, a contractor has to give workers employment contracts, maintain a registry book, define working hours, set wages and overtime benefits, ensure workplace safety and pay treatment costs and compensation in case of injury or death of workers. But the laws have no practical implication.
Like garments, all other sectors are not high achievers by export volumes, so the government should extend the social safety net unto the low paid workers. The government’s Zakat and Waqf Fund can also be used for providing food staples and healthcare for the people who live under the poverty line but work as day labourers or in non-formal sectors.
