Al Amin :
Mobile Financial Services (MFS) providers are ready to disburse billions of taka with a single click among millions of garment workers across the country as wages for the month of April and beyond thanks to the government’s allocations of Tk 5,000 crore credit for the factory owners.
Nearly Taka 40 billion (4000 crore) would be disbursed among 4.1 million (41 lakh) RMG workers through banks and different MFS channels mostly through bKash, the largest MFS player in the country, a BGMEA Director said.
“Mobile banking has become a boon to people now living under home quarantine to remain safe from deadly coronavirus. This unique payment tool is helping them to buy food, medicine other essentials and meet their urgent financial needs from their homes and nearby Agent Points”, he said.
Like all other affected countries in the world, Bangladesh, in bid to fighting against the corona outbreak has closed down all offices, institutions, shopping markets and most factories and enforcing shut down wherever necessary. This has made lives of people difficult particularly of the poor and low-income segment.
Millions of RMG workers are now opening MFS accounts and factory owners are preparing the list to ensure smooth disbursement of wages to the workers. While, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has requested all its members not to terminate workers.
“We have requested all BGMEA members to disburse wages of their workers – nearly 2. 5 million maintaining physical distance in order to remain safe from virus contamination”, BGMEA President Dr Rubana Huq said. “Every day on an average nearly taka one lakh are being paid by different factory owners as workers wage”, she said.
At present, 1.5 million readymade garments workers receive their wages under the digitalized system, while another 2.6 million workers are set to join them out of the total 4.1 million workers within a short time. Most of the workers use bKash to receive salaries, pay utility bills and send money to their relatives living in remote villages.
