Insurance coverage for RMG workers demanded

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Badrul Ahsan Trade union leaders in the apparel sector have demanded mandatory insurance coverage for all the workers of all the listed and non-listed factories across the country. They said that whether the factories do their business through direct contract or under sub-contracting arrangement is not their concern but they want the safety of all workers involved in production of woven or knitwear apparel. Presently, 1200 export-oriented and sub-contacting ready-made garment (RMG) and knitwear factories of the country are running their operations without having any group insurance for their workforce, contrary to the country's labour laws and posing a threat to the lives of hundreds of thousands of their workers. According to the Compensation Act-2005, it is binding upon the factory owners to bring all their workers under group insurance coverage. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in a circular in 2005 made group insurance mandatory for all its member-factories. But until April 2013, only around 2200 garment factories, out of its over 3400 active members, have operationalised the group insurance coverage, BGMEA statistics showed. But industry leaders and the administration appear to be reluctant about extending insurance coverage to the workers of all such factories. "RMG or knit-wear factory owners do not bother to bring their workers under insurance coverage that would involve a cost of only about Tk 1,00,000 as annual premium and this situation is not acceptable to us," president of Bangladesh Biplobi Garment Sramik Federation, Salauddin Swapon told the FE Saturday. "Whether the factories are members of BGMEA and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) or not and how they are running their business are not our concerns. We will soon take stand against the non-compliant factories," he added. President of Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, Nazma Akter has urged the government to be strict about implementation of Compensation Act-2005 under which it is binding upon the factory owners to bring all their workers under group insurance coverage to help avert further workers' unrest in this sector. "Getting insurance coverage is the right of each worker. The type of factories in which they are working is not a matter of consideration here. Everyone has to be brought under insurance coverage," she added. However, BGMEA leaders expressed their apathy, saying that the association can make it mandatory but cannot force the owners to comply with it. Immediate past president of BGMEA Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin told the FE that the association "does not have any special power" to compel the factory owners to bring their workers under insurance coverage. Mr Mohiuddin also said that the association, on several occasions, requested the government to exert pressure, on the basis of the existing laws, on the factory owners to bring their workers under group insurance facilities, but the government was yet to act on the issue. "We have stopped issuing UD, UT and any other services to the non-compliant member-factories since we made it compulsory for them in 2005. Also, if any factory does not export apparel to the destinations where our certifications are needed, then we cannot do anything except requesting the government to encourage or compel them to introduce group insurance," Mr Mohiuddin added. "If any incident occurs, then all the parties including the government, politicians and labour organisations will blame us. But we can only be strict in providing facilities and building awareness, but it is only the government which can enforce the provisions of the law." Under the group insurance policy, each of the workers and his or her nominees in the apparel sector is entitled to receive Tk 1,00,000 and 1,25,000 respectively in the event of death or any 'disability while being at work'. To bring the workers under the insurance coverage, every owner has to pay an amount between Tk 12,500 and Tk 1,00,000 as the annual premium to the insurance companies depending on the number of workers. However, an official of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Establishment under the labour ministry said they cannot visit factories and check whether those are being run in accordance with the provisions of the existing laws of the land, due to shortage of their manpower. "We have only fifty-two inspectors against our requirement for over one thousand. How can we check whether the workers in all the factories have been covered under insurance and other related facilities?", the official wondered. He also said that his office has placed a proposal to the ministry concerned for recruitment of 2,300 additional staff in different categories for the relevant offices across the country with a view to ensuring that the factories are running in accordance with the labour laws and fulfilling other related requirements. Neither the minister nor the secretary of the ministry of labour could be contacted, despite several attempts to get their comments on the issue.