The International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), Bangladesh’s Government and stakeholders native to the Southeast Asian nation, have developed an employment injury insurance scheme for the country’s ready-made garment (RMG) sector. The initiative, first ideated back in 2015, looks set to be introduced for a trial phase from April and will cost an estimated $7.4 mn a year to operate; a figure that it’s expected will be paid for by stakeholders both at the national and international level. It will look to develop robust social protection infrastructure for the compensation of workers in line with existing global labour standards.
It was at a recent event held in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka that representatives of the ILO outlined the concept behind the insurance scheme. In 2015, the organisation signed a letter of intent with Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development with the view to establishing such a framework. By 2017, the ILO stated that it had prepared the infrastructure for the scheme and was in discussion with authorities in Bangladesh on how to integrate such a service within the country’s labour laws.
In just a month’s time then, trials will begin – focusing on initial 50-100 factories – to gauge how effective the scheme is in protecting the RMG workforce, one of Bangladesh’s largest employers. At the event in Dhaka, Anne Marie La Rosa, Operational Manager of Global Programme on Employment Injury Insurance and Protection of the ILO, reportedly told attendees that oversight for the initiative would come under a tripartite employment insurance scheme (EIS) trial committee.
Partnering organisations will support the rollout of the insurance scheme, with payouts for people injured on the job. Even in the trial phase, it’s said the scheme will also cover workers that suffer permanent disabilities or even death.
The International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), Bangladesh’s Government and stakeholders native to the Southeast Asian nation, have developed an employment injury insurance scheme for the country’s ready-made garment (RMG) sector. The initiative, first ideated back in 2015, looks set to be introduced for a trial phase from April and will cost an estimated $7.4 mn a year to operate; a figure that it’s expected will be paid for by stakeholders both at the national and international level. It will look to develop robust social protection infrastructure for the compensation of workers in line with existing global labour standards.
