The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has moved to consult all the stakeholders on introduction of an employment injury insurance scheme for workers, especially for those working in Bangladesh's main export-earning garment sector.
Planned against the backdrop of recent tragedies in the apparel sector, the injury-insurance scheme will be established with contributions from employers and be managed by an autonomous body attached to the Ministry of Labour.
Officials said the managing body would comprise government, workers and employers' representatives. Benefits would be decided by these partners.
The ILO along with other development partners will conduct a feasibility study in this regard and the findings would serve to develop the autonomous institution to operate the scheme under government supervision.
"An employment injury insurance system for the RMG sector is the most cost-effective and socially responsible way to enhance Bangladesh's reputation and competitive advantage in the RMG sector, while allowing workers to be free of worry, should they face an accident at work," said Anne Drouin, the chief of the ILO Social Protection department.
Ms Anne was speaking at a workshop held in the city Saturday. It was organised by the ILO country office to help create dialogue for a better understanding of what employment injury insurance can do for the RMG sector and the Bangladesh economy as a whole.
Organisers said the meet was also meant for exploring various designs tailored to the country context.
Labour secretary Mikail Shipar also spoke at the preparatory function, which was attended by representatives of the government, workers and employers' organizations as well as the civil society.
The employment injury insurance (EII) scheme would spread the risks arising from accidents across all RMG enterprises, Ms Anne said, explaining that everyone could be protected for less than Tk 3.0 (0.04 USD) per workday per worker at the minimum wage.
"This is a sound investment for the RMG sector that will help attract further buyers," Ms Anne Drouin added.
In other countries, benefits include medical care, rehabilitation services for workers as well as income maintenance for injured workers and their dependants during periods when workers are temporarily or permanently disabled or in case of death.
"As a first step it makes sense to develop an EII scheme for the RMG sector. This would send a strong signal to brands and buyers that workers are being taken care of and that labour rights in Bangladesh are being taken seriously.
"Once the scheme is established and operational, it could be scaled up to cover workers in all industries in the formal sector," said Srinivas Reddy, ILO Country Director for Bangladesh.
Following the Rana Plaza tragedy an unprecedented effort took place to provide compensation to survivors and families of the dead. However, it is not realistic or beneficial to repeat such an exercise whenever accidents occur, he noted.
"Bangladesh needs a national EII scheme to provide reliable, low-cost and no-fault accident- compensation insurance for workers. This will be less costly to employers than private insurance and will deliver better protection to ensure that no worker is left behind," Mr Reddy added.
Appreciating such discussion, Mr Shipar said "At least we have started dialogue on workers' insurance which could help to minimize occupational risk."
He urged all stakeholders, particularly the employers, brands and buyers, to come forward to formulate this scheme. He assured that government would provide all kinds of support in this regard.
Roy Ramesh Chandra, secretary-general of IndustriAll Bangladesh Council, recommended involving global apparel buyers in the premium-payment arrangement for implementing the scheme
Abdul Mukit Khan, chairman of the National Coordination Committee for Workers Education, said insurance benefit is the right of workers, and responsibility of owners to ensure it while government will monitor.
It is not difficult to frame a policy but it needs to ensure proper implementation, he noted.
Speakers at the workshop described how lessons from the Rana Plaza disaster have highlighted the importance of establishing an EII scheme and how this experience could serve to rapidly kick-start the new public administration for the scheme once the legal framework is defined and approved.
It was disclosed at the workshop that setting up an EII scheme would modernize the Bangladesh social protection system and bring it much closer to the levels of those in neighbouring countries where such insurance exists.
They also emphasized that such scheme would require active participation of the government, employers and workers.
[email protected]