UNB, Dhaka :
Bangladesh’s workforce and industry alike will benefit from the establishment of an employment injury insurance (EII) scheme, specialists of the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Saturday.
Speaking at a stakeholders workshop on Employment Injury Insurance Programmes held in the city, chief of the ILO Social Protection Department Anne Drouin said an employment injury insurance scheme would reduce the risks arising from accidents across all RMG enterprises.
“An employment injury system for the RMG sector is the most cost effective and socially responsible way to enhance Bangladesh’s reputation and
competitive advantage in the RMG sector while allowing workers to be free of worry should they face an accident at work,” she said.
Anne Drouin said everyone could be protected for less than 3 BDT (0.04 USD) per work-day per worker at the minimum wage. “This is a sound investment for the RMG sector that will help attract further buyers.”
ILO Country Director for Bangladesh Srinivas Reddy said as a first step it makes sense to develop an EII scheme for the ready-made garment sector. “This would send a strong signal to brands and buyers that workers are being taken care of and that labour rights in Bangladesh are being taken seriously.”
Once the scheme is established and operational, he said, it could be scaled up to cover workers in all industries in the formal sector, according to an ILO media release.
“Following Rana Plaza disaster, an unprecedented effort took place to provide compensation to survivors and families of the dead. However, it is not realistic or beneficial to repeat such an exercise whenever accidents occur,” he said.
Bangladesh needs a national EII scheme to provide reliable, low-cost and no-fault accident compensation insurance for workers. This will be less costly to employers than private insurance and will deliver better protection to ensure that no worker is left behind,” Reddy added.
