“The Governance Board of the Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) Pilot approved the inclusion of ‘commuting accidents’ as industrial accidents, making them eligible for compensation payout starting from 1st July 2024” as per the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Md Mahbub Hossain, secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) chaired the meeting, and announced the decision to include commuting accidents in the Employment Injury Scheme Pilot to ‘ensure protection of industries and workers in Bangladesh’.
The EIS Pilot Governance Board’s member government agencies (Central Fund, DoL, DIFE), workers’ organizations (UFGW, NCCWE), and employers’ organizations (BEF, BGMEA, BKMEA) all unanimously supported the decision.
Technical experts from the ILO offered insights into important technical and financial aspects of such an expansion, such as the need to treat accidents involving commuters as workplace accidents but to keep separate records because these incidents happen outside of factories and are not associated with any specific factory.
Additionally, they presented a strong case for the financial sustainability of the coverage of accidents under the EIS Pilot, ILO said.
The workers’ representatives also expressed their commitment to support the initiative.
“RMG Sector is a relatively safe sector, however, road travel is the most horrible part of this job, therefore commuting accidents are important to be covered,” they said.
Article 7 of the ILO Employment Injury Benefits Convention No. 121 (C-121) requires countries to define industrial accidents, including the conditions under which a commuting accident is considered to be an industrial accident.
Adapting this measure brings the Bangladesh EIS one step closer to alignment with the requirements outlined in C -121.
Within the scope of the EIS Pilot, incidents that occur during the direct route between an employee’s place of employment and their local place of residence are classified as commuting accidents.
The EIS Pilot now addresses two of the three suggested vulnerabilities—”Occupational Diseases” is still uncovered—after including commuter accidents. However, a procedure to increase national occupational disease data and capacity has begun.
Tuomo Poutiainen, ILO’s Country Director for Bangladesh said, “Since June 21, 2022, the EIS Pilot has been compensating injured workers and the dependents of deceased workers in the ready-made garments sector for work-related accidents. With this inclusion of commuting accidents, the initiative is expected to provide enhanced protection to workers and improve industrial relations, which are often disrupted by accidents involving workers on their way to or from work.”
