Garment workers’ leaders called on Thursday for ensuring professional health safety, social security, and enhancing living standard with adequate salaries and benefits for them. The call was made to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), government and respective foreign buyers at a programme organised by National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) held in front of the city’s National Press Club to observe “World Professional Health Safety Day 2016”. President of NGWF Amirul Haq Amin, General Secretary Safia Parvin, Faruqe Khan, Nurun Nahar, Arifa Akhter, Kabir Hossain, Nasima Akhter, Rafiqul Islam, Ranu Begum, Parvin Akhter, Md Kasem, Secretary General of IndustryALL Bangladesh Council Babul Akhter, General Secretary of Bangladesh Youth Alliance Sabbah Ali Khan, General Secretary of United Garment Workers Federation Kamrul Hasan, among others, were present in the programme. The NGWF put forth nine-point demand to the government including safety in the workplace, standard compensation commensurate with lifestyle and recognition of the right to trade unionism. Speaking on the occasion Amirul Haq Amin said from the year 1990, at least a hundred incidents including that of Rana Plaza took place until today, costing lives of thousands of ready-made garment (RMG) workers in the country. “Not a single garment factory should remain unsafe and not a single worker should have to give life due to this sort of incidents,” he said.
