Readymade garment manufacturing and exporting units will be covered under the labour ministry’s central fund from which a worker or his children can get BDT 3 lakhs in case of grave injuries or death at workplace which has been announced by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. If the injury or death is outside the workplace, the compensation will be BDT 2 lakhs.

The labour ministry welfare fund, created with 0.03 per cent of the export volume of the industries under Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), is solely aimed at providing financial support to the workers’ families.

While addressing an event at her Dhaka office where she handed over compensation cheques to the families of 234 deceased and crippled garment workers from a fund created by the readymade garments (RMG) sector, she urged the industry bodies to prepare a database of workers to make the process of lending support from the fund easier, according to a news agency report.

In the current fiscal, the advance tax for RGM industries was reduced to 0.70 per cent though 1 per cent was proposed in the budget, she added.

– Apparel and Textile News, Apparel Talk, Indian Apparel