$2.0m project for female tea workers

FE Report
The government will undertake a US$ 2.0 million project for the country's female tea workers to improve their lifestyle and ensure social safety net.
The proposed two-year project to be jointly taken with four development partners of the United Nations, including International Labour Organization (ILO), will be implemented for the betterment of the female tea workers employed in three districts of Sylhet division, according to a labour ministry statement.
The decision was taken at a views exchange meeting, headed by labour secretary AM Ali Azam, at the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) in the city on Saturday.
Abul Kalam Azad, chief Coordinator of SDGs to the Prime Minister's Office, was present as chief guest.
Stressing on improving skills of the tea workers, Mr. Azad said the tea workers should be provided trainings on not only collecting tea leaves but also how to process them and such skill development training would be helpful for both the workers and the tea sector.
Value addition will help increase income of workers along with improving their lifestyle and also growth of the sector, he noted.
The labour ministry is working to ensure decent workplace across the country to attain the sustainable development goals, said Mr. Azam.
DIFE inspector general Shibnath Roy said it is very important to ensure social safety net of tea workers especially the female ones as they are suffering from a number of issues including health, uncertainty of income or job, early and forced marriage, and sexual harassment.
He expressed the hope that the proposed project, once implemented, would help resolve the problems and thus the workers would get rid of those problems.
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