Taking part in a recent press conference, which also witnessed presentation of policy brief based on a study titled ‘Towards the Development of Post Covid-19 Gender Policy in RMG sector in Bangladesh’, speakers maintained the coronavirus pandemic has drastically impacted the female apparel workers of Bangladesh and as such called for improving their living and working conditions.
The study has been conducted by a research team of Professor Azizul Islam, Pamela Abbott, Shamima Haque and Fiona Gooch from the University of Aberdeen, UK, and from Bangladesh Professor Salma Akhter.
Professor Salma Akhter in her presentation, reportedly, stated the women workers engaged in the garment sector of the country need orientation on human and labour rights even as she suggested incorporating jobless women apparel workers in the Government’s social safety net programmes and skill development so as to ensure employment generation for their wellbeing while also emphasising on wide dissemination of the welfare and service provisions of the Ministry of Labour, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association other relevant organisations to the needy female apparel workers for their welfare.
Planning Minister M A Mannan, who was the Chief Guest of the event, reportedly, maintained that a decent work environment for all in the sector is already overdue, and went on to add that the ‘positive aspect of the apparel sector is this is allowing many people a basic livelihood’.
