The International Labour Organization or the ILO has launched a Behaviour Change Awareness Campaign — the campaign was launched in June in collaboration with BRAC — to identify and reduce the COVID-19 risks faced by garment workers in their communities and workplaces.
The campaign targets at least 5,000 households in the manufacturing hubs of Chittagong and Gazipur.
According to reports, which cited a press release issued in this direction, the campaign is based on the findings of a pulse survey conducted on 300 garment workers, aiming to address gaps in the understanding of COVID-19 risks and safety measures even as the reports maintained that the campaign is a part of the ILO’s Social Dialogue and Industrial Relations (SDIR) project’s COVID-19 response work, jointly with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the Department of Labour, Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Workers Resource Centre (WRC), and funded by Sweden and Denmark.
As the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the apparel industry in Bangladesh, the campaign hopes to complement the ILO’s ongoing support to the industry by raising awareness about the pandemic, and advising safe and healthy practices to protect workers and encourage good public behaviour, reportedly, maintained Country Director ILO Bangladesh Tuomo Poutiainen.
