Garment workers on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to Food Minister Quamrul Islam demanding introduction of monthly food rationing system along with government subsidy for them to cope with the price hike in essentials. A seven-member delegation of workers’ representatives submitted the memorandum to the minister at his Secretariat office after a human chain programme in front of the Jatiya Press Club. In the memorandum, the workers said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her election manifesto in 2009, promised to introduce rationing system for workers if her party forms the government, reports UNB. They said though an initiative was taken to distribute rice among the workers it turned ineffective for lack of coordination. The workers expressed the hope that the Prime Minister will allow the rationing system to fulfill her election pledge. “If the armed forces, the police and other forces can enjoy food rationing, then why can’t the garment sector workers enjoy it as the prime earners of foreign currency?” They proposed creating a data base of the workers before initiating the rationing system. They also proposed providing each worker’s family having four persons with 30kg rice, 15 kg flour, 5kg pulse, 3 litre edible oil, 5kg sugar and 2 kg powder milk for children as monthly ration. “Each worker’s family will only give Tk 1,000 for the food items, while the government will provide the rest of the money as subsidy.” Earlier at the human chain programme, they placed a seven-point demand, including announcement of 50 per cent dearness allowance for the garment workers from January this year before announcing the next wage board for them. Samamana Garment Sramik Sangathan Samuha, a platform of different workers organisation, arranged the programme.
