Govt should act as custodian not businessman: Akbar Ali
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
The government should act as the custodian of the people, rather than acting as 'businessman'.
Regulatory Reforms Commission (RRC) Chairman Akbar Ali Khan made the remark while speaking at a roundtable on "poverty reduction and workers' social security issues" organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) in the city Monday, reports bdnews24.com.
The former adviser said the inflation rate actually experienced by the poor was as high as 40 per cent.
He said that it was regrettable that the government always cited the increasing price of food in the international market for their failure to contain domestic costs.
Speakers at the roundtable said lack of proper wages, pension funds, medical care and compensation for accidents are hindering social security for the country's labour force.
The speakers agreed that the country's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) could not work until proper wages for 40 million workers were ensured by fixing a benchmark.
The five-year strategy plan for reducing poverty expired in 2007, with the caretaker government announcing to extend it until the next one is drafted.
"The two fundamentals for the PRSP are employment and social security", the RRC chairman said.
Akbar Ali claimed the caretaker administration's social security programmes had failed to meet the challenges posed by the economic conditions prevailing in the country.
"For instance, the minimum wage for garment workers has been set at Tk 1,650 per month", he said.
"I think, and I'm sure all of you would agree, that at least Tk 3,000 is needed to just barely survive in a city like Dhaka", he added.
Akbar Ali went on to criticise the interim government for claiming that the unemployment rate was as low as 4.00 per cent.
"If that is true then I have to say there is no unemployment in Bangladesh, as the unemployment rate is higher in many countries in Europe and the US", he said.
The former adviser said the inflation rate actually experienced by the poor was as high as 40 per cent.
"The inflation rate is calculated from the prices of many commodities along with food items."
"But the poor are only concerned about food, and considering that, I would have to say inflation is not less than 30 per cent", Akbar told journalists following the discussion.
"The government should act as the custodian of the people, rather than acting as businessman", he said.
BILS Additional Executive Director Syed Sultan Ahmed said that a lack of proper wages, pension funds, compensation for accidents and medical care were hindering workers' social security.
"Ensuring workers' social security would enable equal distribution of resources in society while cushioning low income families from risks. This would play a key role in poverty reduction", the BILS senior executive said.
Regulatory Reforms Commission (RRC) Chairman Akbar Ali Khan made the remark while speaking at a roundtable on "poverty reduction and workers' social security issues" organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) in the city Monday, reports bdnews24.com.
The former adviser said the inflation rate actually experienced by the poor was as high as 40 per cent.
He said that it was regrettable that the government always cited the increasing price of food in the international market for their failure to contain domestic costs.
Speakers at the roundtable said lack of proper wages, pension funds, medical care and compensation for accidents are hindering social security for the country's labour force.
The speakers agreed that the country's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) could not work until proper wages for 40 million workers were ensured by fixing a benchmark.
The five-year strategy plan for reducing poverty expired in 2007, with the caretaker government announcing to extend it until the next one is drafted.
"The two fundamentals for the PRSP are employment and social security", the RRC chairman said.
Akbar Ali claimed the caretaker administration's social security programmes had failed to meet the challenges posed by the economic conditions prevailing in the country.
"For instance, the minimum wage for garment workers has been set at Tk 1,650 per month", he said.
"I think, and I'm sure all of you would agree, that at least Tk 3,000 is needed to just barely survive in a city like Dhaka", he added.
Akbar Ali went on to criticise the interim government for claiming that the unemployment rate was as low as 4.00 per cent.
"If that is true then I have to say there is no unemployment in Bangladesh, as the unemployment rate is higher in many countries in Europe and the US", he said.
The former adviser said the inflation rate actually experienced by the poor was as high as 40 per cent.
"The inflation rate is calculated from the prices of many commodities along with food items."
"But the poor are only concerned about food, and considering that, I would have to say inflation is not less than 30 per cent", Akbar told journalists following the discussion.
"The government should act as the custodian of the people, rather than acting as businessman", he said.
BILS Additional Executive Director Syed Sultan Ahmed said that a lack of proper wages, pension funds, compensation for accidents and medical care were hindering workers' social security.
"Ensuring workers' social security would enable equal distribution of resources in society while cushioning low income families from risks. This would play a key role in poverty reduction", the BILS senior executive said.