A rapid telephone-based survey on the country’s ready-made garment sector has revealed that 47 per cent workers have now without any income amid protracted shutdown in wake of coronavirus pandemic. Another 24 per cent workers are on leave with full pay and 11 per cent on leave with partial pay, said the survey revealed by Bangladesh Health Watch and BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University on Saturday. A total of 159 people serving in the RMG sector took part in the rapid survey between April 3 and April 15. Of them, 51 per cent are male and 49per cent female. The survey also revealed that 35 per cent of the workers got no support, 62 per cent got some safety measures including masks and only 9 per cent received some economic support including extra bonus. The respondents said that they needed cash and food supports immediately. Fifty-three per cent of the respondents said they did not know when normalcy would be restored. The outcome of the rapid survey on the RMG sector employing over 40 lakh workers and accounting over 85 per cent of the country’s annual export of $40 billion was launched in an online briefing.
