Terming the safety and security of the workplace as important for boosting industrial production, President Abdul Hamid on Thursday urged all including the workers, owners and the government to work from their respective positions to ensure professional health and safety of workers for building a prosperous country.
“It is the legal right of workers to be in good health in a safe place and the country’s development is closely associated with it. If the workers remain well-protected, country’s production will be increased and economic development will be expedited,” the President said while addressing a programme here.
Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment Mikail Shipar presided over the programme organized in observance of “National Professional Heath and Safety Day’.
State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque, Sramik League General Secretary Sirajur Islam, BGMEA President Siddiqur Rahman, A.H Aslam Sunny of BKMEA and ILO Country Director Srinivas B. Reddy spoke on the occasion, among others.
Abdul Hamid said it is possible to bring down the risks of professional health and safety in workplace by creating awareness among the people. Workers are involved in production process, he said, adding that health and safety issue of workers are not any personal issue, rather it is an investment for the country’s economic development.
“If workers survive, the industry will survive and the wheels of the country’s economy will roll,” President Hamid said, adding that there is no alternative to ensuring professional health and safety in the workplace to take the country’s industrial sector to the zenith of development.
Mentioning the government’s initiatives for improving the safe work environment of RMG workers, Abdul Hamid said the government is committed to ensuring the safety of the structure of the factory buildings and fire system in the RMG sector.
The steps that have been taken so far by the government for ensuring the safety of the factory buildings, fire and power system have already been appreciated internationally, he said, adding that steps will also be taken in phases to ensure safe work environment in other sectors.
He said there are clear directives in different clauses of the country’s constitution for ensuring safe work environment and health of workers. The government has also formulated the National Professional Health and Safety Policy 2013 to ensure safe environment for workers, he added.
The President said achieving economic emancipation for working class people is the spirit of the country’s Liberation War and Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was vocal throughout his life for ensuring the social dignity of them. After the independence Bangabandhu took different measures for improving the lot of the working class people and he always gave the highest importance to achieving economic freedom for making the political freedom meaningful.
