The European Union (EU), which is the largest apparel export destination for Bangladesh, in a unique gesture, has come forward to help the readymade garment industry pay its workers in these trying times.

The bloc of 27 European nations has recently offered the industry grant of €113 million to help pay the garment workers who have lost their jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

Garment workers who have lost their jobs following the countrywide shutdown clamped by the Government in March – which rendered garment factories to close down – and have not been able to get any employment since then in any other readymade garment manufacturing unit, would be eligible to get financial assistance from this grant.

As per the provision of the grant, those workers will get cash support amounting to Taka 3,000 monthly for a 3-month period (from June to August), which translates to around Taka 300 crore for around 1 million workers.