Industry owners have to come forward to ensure safety for their respective workers as it is not possible on part of the government alone to do so. State Minister for Labour Mujibul Haque came up with the clarion call on Sunday while addressing the launching ceremony of third phase of Essentials of Occupational Safety and Health (EOSH) training package in Dhaka. International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s International Training Centre in Turin developed the package. The junior minister in his speech said, “There are as many as 8.3 million economic units operating in the country. So it is hardly possible for the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) to oversee the inspection activities with merely 250 inspectors.” “There are many who are yet to contribute a certain portion of their profit to the government’s exchequer for the welfare of workers,” the State Minister said urging all profit-making entities to contribute a certain portion of their profit to the government’s fund. He said there is a separate central fund for the export-oriented RMG sector and its workers will start getting support from the fund from December next. A garment worker, he informed, will get a total of Tk 0.5 million (0.3 million from the central fund and 0.2 million for insurance). The EOSH course is being conducted by the Bangladesh Employers Federation (BEF) with support of the ILO and funding from Canada, the Netherlands and United Kingdom. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) are also extending support to the training. An agreement was also signed later between the parties concerned. The initiative has seen a core group of 114 master trainers from the BEF, BGMEA, BKMEA and the RMG factories train 8,038 RMG managers and supervisors in occupational safety and health. During this latest phase, the group will now go on and build awareness of key EOSH issues covering seven priority areas – fire and electrical safety; trips, slips, falls and good housekeeping; dangerous substances; ergonomics; personal protective equipment and first aid amongst 8,00,000 workers in 585 factories by June next year. Canadian High Commissioner Benoit-Pierre Larmee, BGMEA President Siddiqur Rahman, BKMEA Vice-President Mansoor Ahmed while Abdul Mukit Khan representing the National Coordination Committee for Worker’s Education, among others, were present. ILO Country Director Srinivas Reddy echoed the recent comments made by ILO Director General Guy Ryder who in the aftermath of the recent Tampaco Foils fire highlighted that there could be no room for complacency and the need to create a stronger culture of preventative safety in all industrial sectors. BEF Vice-President Golam Mainuddin said, “A safe work environment is a priority issue for his Federation. All concerned quarters should work together to implement the OSH measures at workplaces in accordance with the related laws and provisions of the country.” The 8038 mid-level managers, supervisors, chief in floors who were trained in the second phase will conduct training session with the targeted 8,00,000 workers, he added. The third phase will also include orientation on safety committees for 585 garment factories representatives to initiate or establish such committees at factory level, he said, adding some 110 safety committees have been planned to be established under the project. Terming child labour particularly the hazardous ones as one of the priority and concerned issues for the employers, he said the BEF is committed to the national and international efforts for elimination of child labour, especially hazardous child labour, from the formal as well as other sectors through policy interventions. Following the launch of the EOSH programme, a stakeholder consultation also took place on the ILO’s Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for Bangladesh (2016-2020). DWCPs are the main vehicle for delivery of the ILO support to different countries. Each DWCP is organised around a limited number of country programme priorities and outcomes. These are further detailed in an implementation plan.
