The government has decided to introduce an employment injury scheme (EIS) for the readymade garment sector workers from July this year.
The labour and employment ministry agreed on this on Wednesday at a meeting with the international Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Earlier, leaders of the Bangladesh Employers' Federation (BEF) announced to introduce the scheme in writing on 31 May in Geneva. The government supported that on Wednesday.
The project will be launched in the first week of July on pilot basis. A bank account will be openedin a state-owned bank to be operated by a tripartite management committee.

A delegation comprising leaders of apparel industry associations in  Bangladesh held a meeting with André Picard, chief technical  adviser and head of the Actuarial Services Unit, and Anne-Marie La  Rosa of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland on May 31.   

The delegation included the President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Faruque Hassan, President of Employers Federation of Bangladesh (BEF) Ardashir Kabir, Executive President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Mohammad Hatem, BGMEA Vice President Miran Ali, BGMEA Standing Committee Chair on ILO issue A N M Saifuddin and Secretary General of BEF Farooq Ahmed. 

They had discussions about various issues pertaining to the apparel industry of Bangladesh, particularly the progress made by the industry in compliance with ILO conventions ratified by the country. They also discussed the employment injury insurance scheme for the RMG sector in Bangladesh. 

The delegation apprised the ILO about the industry’s ongoing initiatives and programs including ILO’s Better Work Program in the RMG sector to promote decent working conditions in the garment factories. 

They asserted the firm commitment of the industry to carrying forward the achievements made so far in ensuring a safe and decent workplace for workers and their rights and well-being.

The consorted demand came at a human chain protest programme organised in front of the National Press Club on the initiative of the Workers' Safety Forum (SNF) to commemorate the nine-year anniversary of the Rana Plaza accident. 

"Workers killed and injured in various workplaces across the country, including Rana Plaza and Tazreen, should be compensated on the basis of their lifetime income loss by establishing a national standard, which can be made following the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 121 and the Deadly Accidents Act, 1855," said Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS ) Director Nazma Yasmeen. 

Echoing the same, Nationalist Workers Party President Anwar Hossain said those responsible for the Rana Plaza accident should be brought to justice expeditiously and the victims should be compensated in accordance with international standards. 

He also demanded long-term treatment facilities for the injured. 

President of National Workers' Federation Kamrul Ahsan, General Secretary of Trade Union Federation Chowdhury Ashiqul Alam, Secretary of Trade Union Center Abul Kalam Azad and others were present in the programs. 

Today - 24 April – marks a doleful incident in the history of the country's garment industry. On this day in 2013, the Rana Plaza building in Savar collapsed killing 1,138 people and leaving at least 2,000 others injured in the worst ever industrial accident to hit the country.

Jasmine woke up late. She was running a fever, and late for work too. She did not have time for breakfast, instead she rushed out the door to catch a bus. When she entered her workplace and signed in the logbook on 24 April 2013, it was exactly 8:40 am.

"I managed on time," said Jasmine, a former garment worker of Phantom Apparels.

But reaching on time brought on one of the most untimely things in her life. That day, her line manager was supposed to hand over a new task, so she was waiting at the manager's table.

"Sitting there, I almost dozed off. The next minute, when I came to my senses, I felt things shake. First, I thought I was a little dizzy but quickly understood that it was the building," she remembered.

"It was crashing. I screamed but could not move. The next moment, a pillar fell on me and something very sharp pricked my leg," said Jasmine.

Phantom Apparels was located on the fourth floor of the now infamous Rana Plaza factory complex.

Jasmine was taken to a hospital. Her treatment went on for about 18 months, free of cost, but she was never the same. "My legs are there, but they give me immense pain. Sometimes I feel it would have been good if they had been cut off," said Jasmine, in an exhale.
 

Ever since, Jasmine has not been able to return to normal life or start working again. She was rendered physically handicapped, treated as a burden and started to live through a lifetime of loss.
 

The twin disasters of Rana Plaza and Tazreen Factory Fire in 2012 and 2013 - that killed 1,232 workers and injured 2,650 workers - dealt a massive blow to the reputation of the Bangladesh RMG industry, the second largest garment exporter in the world. It exposed to the world the inhumane conditions under which Bangladeshi workers worked in some of these factories, as well as the lack of protections afforded these workers in the country's labour law.

Not only had all these workers lost their lives or physical abilities, but the existing laws and schemes in the country did very little to compensate them for their losses. At the time, international labour organisations, global labels, the Bangladesh government and BGMEA came together to devise a scheme to compensate the victims of the largest industrial accident in history.

Ever since, the RMG industry has gone through a transformation in terms of working conditions in factories, as well as a change in the laws to afford protections to workers. Naturally, the next step would be to find long term solutions to protect workers against such disasters.

A pilot project in Bangladesh named Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) is looking to do just that. Expected to be implemented in 2022-2023 - it will run for three to five years and will be fully funded by international brands and central funds from BGMEA.

Basically, EIS is a calculated percentage of the workers' wages that is paid by the employers. Each employer will pay 0.033% of each employee's salary to the central fund and at times of crisis, it will be provided to the workers based on their need. In this process, employers (small/medium/large; solvent/insolvent) are expected to contribute reasonably and protect respective workers equally.

Once the pilot project is completed, the garment owners will continue this project - which brings us to the question, whether owners will be willing or able to pay this percentage.

Asif Ibrahim, director of BGMEA and managing director of Keilock Newage Bangladesh Ltd. responded, "The pilot project is run by the
international brands and central fund. We [BGMEA] are already contributing to the central fund. So, after three to five years, when this
project will be in motion, there will be a structured system in place.

Hopefully, by then owners would not have to
struggle to run it."

Since the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013, ILO has been working with the government of Bangladesh, and other industry partners on improving working conditions in Bangladesh's Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector.

EIS has been proposed according to the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (Convention 121). It has three pillars – prevention, rehabilitation and compensation – beneficial for both stakeholders and workers. It is mainly for workers affected by work- related injuries and diseases who are entitled to medical care, rehabilitation services and compensation (loss of earning).

"The pilot will initially include factories covering around 150,000 workers. It is divided into two phases. Phase I will develop recommendations to improve (if required) the existing practice in addressing temporary incapacity. It will also work with the factories to improve the capacity of enterprise clinics.
 

Building on these recommendations, Phase II will continue to transform the learning from the trial into a sustainable and nationally owned scheme fully embedded in the national normative framework," explained Tuomo Poutiainen, Director, ILO Country Office for Bangladesh.

This year in March, the Institute of Health Economics of Dhaka University (DU) revealed that 40% of the country's RMG industry's workers, out of 42 lakh, are deprived of medical treatment due to the high cost of healthcare.

Dr Ruhul Abid, President and Founder of Health and Education for All (HAEFA) in an interview earlier this year with The Business Standard said he speculated that around 60% to 70% of workers in this sector are deprived of healthcare.

"I believe at best 10% to 20% of factories ensure this fundamental right [healthcare] for their workers and I doubt even one percent of our garment workers have health insurance coverage," he said during the interview.

A letter of intent for EIS had been signed between the Governments of Bangladesh, Germany and ILO in 2015, but it took a long time to make this much progress. Later, in early 2020, a broad level consensus was reached with the employers to initiate a trial of an EIS project. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the initiative had to face a setback.

The project has a plan to introduce an injury-based compensation approach for long-term compensation and health care for workers with permanent incapacity, and long-term compensation for family members of deceased workers. In the case of the latter, compensation would be calculated based on loss of earnings and paid periodically.

Now, ILO and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) are assisting the MoLE in developing and implementing a trial on an EIS to display its benefits to employers, workers, brands and buyers and the government. In parallel, they are working on the EIS system administrative mechanism and organisational agreement to establish a permanent EIS.

Quamrul Ahsan, an advisory member of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) and President of Jatio Sramik Federation, said, "Why has such an initiative been taken after all these years? Usually, in countries with an EIS scheme, brands do not face any legal risk in case of work-related injury or disease as the scheme takes the responsibility. 

Brands and buyers are putting constant pressure on this industry for its back-to-back reprehensible incidents in recent times. I do not think the government has any goodwill for workers, otherwise how could so many accidents happen in such a short period."

The government, meanwhile, has planned in National Social Security Strategy (NSSS 2015) for a National Social Insurance Scheme (NSIS) covering maternity, unemployment, work injuries, illness, disability for the working-age population as well as workers' wellbeing.

When pointed out the NSSS initiatives, Quamrul responded, "Before implementing anything, we should have a look at the state of implementation of government initiatives. Take, for example, the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE).
Are they carrying out their designated tasks? Are they implementing the existing strategies and laws? Once we ensure DIFE is effective, we can figure out which scheme or strategy will work for us. But I appreciate this; at least some steps have been taken due to international pressure. Maybe this time, things will be changed." One can hope. 

Bangladesh is a populated country and here most people include in the labor force. Most of the labor organizations or companies or garments have their own rules and regulations but all of them had to follow the minimum statutory standards and must make rules according to the
same. Bangladesh employment law or federal labor law is regulated by the Labour Act, 2006, and the 2015 Labour Rules. In this article, the employee’s right in the workplace regarding the right to weekly vacations or annual leave or working hours or wages and other rights shall be cover.

In Labour Act, 2006 worker means any person, including an apprentice employed in any establishment or industry, either directly or through a contractor, to carry out any skilled, unqualified, manual, technical, commercially promotional or clerical hire or reward work, whether the terms of employment are expressed or implied, but does not include a person employed primarily in managerial or clerical work. Any employee can demand his rights if hampered before the Labour Court and any person is abiding by the decisions of the Labour Court, can be seen in the case of James Finlay & Co. Ltd Vs. Chairman Second Labour Court, 1980, 9 CLC (AD) where the Labour Court held that the application was maintainable an ordered the reinstatement of the employee concerned. Against this decision, the appellant company moved the High Court of Bangladesh under Article 102 of the Constitution. The appellant company did not succeed before the High Court Division.

The 2006 Labour Act states the daily and weekly basis of working hours along with the overtime hours and their payment. The daily working hours shall be 8 hours with an interval as under section 108. Then weekly working hours shall be 48 hours up to 10 hours per day and 60 hours per week and on average 56 hours per week. There has a limitation for Women Workers that no shift from 10.00 pm to 06.00 am without the woman worker’s consent. It is to be mention that double employment is not allowed for any worker.

wages include salary, any bonus, or remuneration for overtime or any other remuneration payable in the course of employment. Wage is a right of an employee but under Labour Act 2006 the wages were not fixed rather it set a procedure for fixing the minimum wages rate. The
maximum wage period is one month.

According to the Labour Law, each worker’s wage must be paid before the end of the seventh day after the last day when the wage is payable. This also applies if an employee has been terminated by retirement or by removal, dismissal, or retrenchment by the employer. Wages have to be paid in legal tender or through cheque and in some cases through an electronic transfer in favor of the bank account of the worker or through any other digital medium. It is to be mention that no deduction can be made from the wages except the reasons mentioned under section 125 of the Labour Act.

Under section 195 of the following Act given some restriction upon employers, which is the rights of an employee. Under this section restricted any kinds of discrimination against any person in regard to any employment, promotion, condition of employment, or working
condition on the ground that such person is or is not a member or officer of any trade union.

Also, any employees have a fundamental right to take leave. There are many kinds of leave for sickness or maternity leave or annual leave and others as under the following Act.

Employees have a right to a safe workplace and to ensure workplace safety, the following Act instructs the employers to regularly examine the machinery. Section 75 of the Act 2006 provides the provisions regarding safety in the eyes of the workers. It also prohibits workers to
engage in duties where the fumes are likely to be inflammable without precautions.

Also, the Labour Act 2006 ensures some special provisions regarding the health issue as well as safety for the employees under chapter VII, sections 79-88. According to this chapter, the workers should be notified of such operations which are hazardous and also harmful to their health. In terms of women, workers are prohibited to work near machinery which is dangerous. The Government can make rules for securing the safety of persons employed in a factory or industrial establishments.

In the above discussion, we have seen the employees’ rights of wages, security, and others but since early march 2020 the coronavirus cases continue to increase, the employees have also the right to a healthy and safe workplace. Every workplace or industry should determine the
guidelines for safety and control the transmission and impact of covid-19.

Also, the provision to keep the workplace clean and safe states section 51 of the Labour Act, 2006 that every establishment must be kept clean and free from effluvia arising from any drain, privy, or any other nuisance. In particular, it can be said that dirt is to be removed by sweeping the floors, workrooms, staircases, and passages of the establishment on a daily basis. Thus, by keeping the workplace clean the transmission of the covid-19 can be stopped.

There are some other provisions also which can be said that ensures the safety of the employees as section 56 of the following Act prohibits overcrowding and states that “no workroom in any establishment shall be overcrowded to an extent injurious to the health of the workers employed therein”. Then under Section 116 states that all workers are entitled to sick leave with full wages for 14 days. These two weeks is also the time taken to be able to detect whether someone has in fact contracted Covid-19 and is mild. Thus, this can be saying that these provisions are the rights of each employee during this pandemic, and if any contravention results in such loss of life, the punishment can be up to four years of imprisonment and/or a fine of up to Taka one lakh. Therefore, if an employer fails to uphold these safeguards, they would be liable to fine or imprisonment.

The employees have also some rights at the time of termination that the employer cannot fire or discipline for his misconduct unless the charges brought against him are reported in writing and a copy of the accusation shall be given to him with a duration of at least seven days to explain along with the chance to be heard. In the case of Md. Sadek Ali Vs. Government of Bangladesh and Others Writ Petition No. 7903 of 2011, the General Manager of the Mills terminated the worker from service. In so doing did not serve him any prior notice or give him an opportunity of being heard in any manner. The court held writ petition does not appear to be maintainable and gave the consideration to the Management of Crescent Jute Mills Ltd. to take the proper decision.

An employer can retrench an employee on retirement grounds from the operation of any institution if any work has been in continuous service under an employer for at least one year, in the case of such worker being retrenched, the employer shall offer him one month’s notice in writing specifying the reasons for his withdrawal or pay him salaries for the duration of notice in lieu of such notice. If these conditions do not fulfill by the employer and employee can go before the court for demanding his right.

From the above discussion, it can be said that the Labour Act is quite well to protect the rights but some mechanisms are very poor like this does not mention the consequence if any employee’s faces sexual harassment in the workplace. Though it is said that the Bangladesh
Labour Act 2006 is a strong piece of legislation that covers the majority of the international standards but workers continue to face serious conditions without effective enforcement of it. There are fatal problems in the enforcement of the existing labour laws also it is proved that the law is inadequate to many extents to address the need of the workers. Thus, to ensure better rights the government shall keep monitoring the industries and other workplaces.

Hundreds of workers die in workplace accidents in the country every year, but families of most of them don’t get any compensation due to negligence of the authorities concerned, and for legal complexities.

Legal experts and labour leaders said that the existing laws don’t evaluate the workers properly. Many families of workplace death victims and disabled workers don’t get the chance of claiming compensation, while many others face untold harassment to get
compensation. Against this backdrop, it becomes impossible to ensure compensation. 

As per the labour law, the maximum amount of compensation is Tk two lakh in case of workplace death, and Tk 2.50 lakh in case of permanent disablement.

Talking to Bangladesh Post on Thursday, Barrister Md Abdul Halim, chairman of Children’s Charity Bangladesh Foundation, said that the amount is very poor. The value of a life can’t be just Tk two lakh. On the other hand, the amount is not paid in most of the cases even for the workers who work in the registered factories, while the matter
becomes more complicated for the private workers.

He demanded update of the law so that the compensation for casualties are ensured alongside ensuring some rights of workers and preventing incidents in workplaces as incidents happen mostly due to fault and negligence of owners.

Meanwhile, accidents and death rates in the workplace are not declining as expected. A total of 440 workers were killed and 108 others were injured severely in workplace accidents in Bangladesh in the first six months of 2021. 

According to a recent survey of Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE Foundation), a total of 548 casualties took place in various workplace accidents across the country in the six months.

Among the casualties, 440 workers died, while 108 received severe injuries. However, 99 of the casualties took place in the formal sector, while the number of dead workers is 57 and injured, 42. On the other hand, a total of 449 casualties occurred in the informal sector. Among them, 383 people died and 66 were injured. 

Asad Uddin, Program Coordinator of OSHE Foundation, provided a summary of the survey report to Bangladesh Post on Thursday.

The survey was carried out based on the 15 national dailies and on the basis of observations and information obtained from OSHE’s own field data collectors at OSHE field offices.

The survey revealed that a total of 222 casualties as well as most of the casualties occurred in the transport sector, while 99 in service sector (such as workshops, gas, power supply companies etc.), 84 in construction sector, 28 in shipbreaking industry, 18 in the RMG sector, 56 in the agriculture sector and 41 in factories and other establishments.

According to the survey, other causes of deaths include electrocution, falling from the roof, soil or stone collapses, being hit or crushed by any object, collapse of hills or soil, bridges, buildings, roofs and walls, fires; toxic gas in tanks or water tanks, lightning, physical abuse of domestic workers.

The survey report placed some recommendations to prevent workplace accidents. The recommendations include that Department of Labour, RAJUK and the government regulatory bodies concerned must perform their duties properly and ensure proper implementation of the law including strengthening the factory inspection system for all sectors; each organisation must provide its own safety and hygiene regulations including providing appropriate personal protective equipment to workers free of charge; the formation of safety committees in the factories, regular fire drills and provision of necessary training to workers on occupational health and safety measures.

Notable accident and casualties in the six months was five workers were burnt in a gas line leakage at Niki Dyeing and Finishing Factory at Sonargaon upazila in Narayanganj.

In addition, seven workers were killed and 21 were injured while working unsafely in the shipbreaking industry.

Deaths and injuries of workers out of workplace accidents are a very common phenomenon in Bangladesh. We have seen too many tragic workplace accidents in Bangladesh in recent years, lost hundreds of workers’ lives, and left many others permanently disabled. Since the Rana Plaza disaster, no fewer than 150 accidents have occurred. Among these, at least 35 were textile factory incidents in which 491 workers were injured and 27 lost their lives. In the absence of a well-functioning labour inspection system and of appropriate enforcement mechanisms, decent work and life in dignity are still far from reality for the vast majority of workers in the various industries and their families. In the recent workplace accident at the factory of Sajeeb Group in Rupganj, at least 49 workers and staffers died in the fire, being trapped on the third floor with its lone exit locked when the blaze engulfed the building. Three others died after jumping off the six-storey food processing factory. The death toll stood at 52, most of whom were women and children. Bangladesh is a promising country in terms of the economic progress seen in the past 12 years under the leadership of our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. More specifically, in the nine years following the collapse of Rana Plaza, Bangladesh has made real and unprecedented progress in improving workers’ health and safety in its garment industry. There have been many positive changes in the Bangladesh Labour Law and policies with regards to workers’ health and safety. Therefore, Bangladesh has a well-established system for paying compensation in case of workplace accidents, which is covered by the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 (BLA), revised in 2018; the Bangladesh Labour Rules, 2015 (BLR); and the Bangladesh EPZ Labour Act, 2019. The system has clear provisions for payment of compensation in case of workplace accidents and the subsequent death or injury of any worker. This particular system is applicable for workers/employees of all the sectors across the country. However, it has been experienced that the system could not be implemented properly in informal sectors due to insufficient enforcement mechanisms by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), under the Ministry of Labour and Inspection. Any workers/employees of formal sectors are compensated through this system. The detailed system is narrated below.

In case of death

If any worker dies while working in the floor/workplace, or dies following an accident, then they will be entitled to:

 Legal obligation: 

1. The legal heir of the deceased worker will get the death compensation as mentioned under section 19 of BLA and section 18 of the Bangladesh EPZ Labour Act. The section of BLA says that:

pay as compensation 30 (thirty) days’ wages or, in the case of his death while working in the establishment or in the case of his death following an accident while working in the establishment 45 (forty five) days’ wages for every completed year of his service or any part thereof exceeding 6 (six) months or gratuity, whichever is higher, to the nominee of the deceased worker or, in the absence of the nominee, to his dependent and this money shall be in addition to the retirement benefit to which the deceased worker would have been entitled had he retired from service.”

The EPZ act denotes the same proviso except the employment time shall be not less than one year. 2. The legal heir of the deceased worker will get the retirement benefit mentioned under section 28(3) and 26(4). According to section 26(4): “Where the employment of a permanent worker is terminated under this section, he shall be paid by the employer compensation at the rate of 30 (thirty) days’ wages for his every completed year of service or gratuity, if payable, whichever is higher, and this compensation shall be in addition to any other benefit which is payable to such worker under this Act.” 3. The EPZ Labour Act expands the benefit narrating in section 24(3), “If any worker retires under this section, the employer shall pay him compensation at the rate of 45(forty-five) day’s wages for every completed year of service in addition to any other benefit to which he may be entitled under this Act or under own service rule of the establishment, shall be paid his benefits due to him.” The legal heir of the deceased worker will also get the benefit from the group insurance as envisaged in section 99(3) of BLA. In practice, the group insurance was bought by the employers from private insurance companies for factories with more than 100 workers. Group insurance provided coverage of a maximum of 20 death cases. However, the provision says that if a central fund is established by the government in the 100% export-oriented industrial sector under sub-section (3) of section 232, or 100% foreign money investors in the export-oriented industrial sector, group insurance for the workers of such industrial sector shall not be necessary, and in such cases, the workers shall be paid from such fund equal to the money of group insurance. 5. Legal heirs who fall under the ambit of the EPZ Act will also get benefits from group insurance as mentioned in article 36 of the EPZ Act. It further narrates the amount claimed as insurance shall be in addition to the other dues of a worker under this Act and shall be secured within 120 days of such claim. 6. The legal heir of the deceased worker shall also be entitled to get the compensation as envisaged under section 151(1)(a) of the BLA. The section says that the amount of compensation shall be where death results from the injury, the sum mentioned in the second column of the Fifth Schedule. The amount of compensation mentioned in 2nd column of Fifth Schedule of the BLA is BDT 200,000/- whatever be the amount of basic wages of the worker. 7. Section 75(1)(a) of the EPZ Act says the amount of compensation shall be where death results from the injury, the sum mentioned in the second column of the Fifth Schedule of the EPZ Act. The mentioned amount is BDT 2, 00,000, whatever be the amount of basic wages of the worker. 8. If the employer bears the expenses for his treatment (subsequently resulting in death), burial, or carrying of the dead body. Then the employer cannot deduct from the compensation payable to the dependents of the worker. According to proviso of section 155(3): “Provided that where, in the case of a deceased worker, any amount is paid for his burial or treatment or carrying of the dead body, it shall not be deducted from any amount paid in advance by the employer or from the compensation payable to the dependents through the Labour Court.” 9. In addition, he/she will also get the benefit from the Provident Fund if the establishment has the Provident Fund system (rule 263 of BLR) and unavailed leave encashment (if any) according to section 11 of BLA.

In case of temporary disablement

If any worker meets an accident during working hours (in the workplace) and, as a result, the worker is injured “temporarily.” Temporary disablement reduces the earning capacity of a worker in any employment in which he was engaged at the time of the accident. A worker who acquires temporary disablement will be entitled to get the following benefits from the employer. 

Legal obligation:

If any worker meets an accident during working hours (in the workplace) and, as a result, the worker is injured “temporarily.” Temporary disablement reduces the earning capacity of a worker in any employment in which he was engaged at the time of the accident. A worker who acquires temporary disablement will be entitled to get the following benefits from the employer. Legal obligation:

Whether a worker is fully cured or not will be determined by a registered medical practitioner. 

2. Section 82 of the EPZ Act says: Where a worker gives notice of an accident, the employer shall, within 3 (three) days of service of such notice, cause the worker to be examined at the expense of the employer by a medical practitioner. It further says in (3) that medical examination, treatment under sub-section (1), and details related thereof shall be determined by regulation.

3. The worker will get monthly payment as compensation as envisaged in the fourth column of the fifth schedule of the BLA. 

The provision says that: “Compensation shall be paid for the period of disablement or for 1 (one) year, whichever is shorter. Such compensation shall be paid at the rate of full monthly wages for the first 2 (two) months, at the rate of two-thirds of the monthly wages for the next 2 (two) months and at the rate of half of monthly wages for the subsequent months.”

In case of permanent disablement

If any worker meets an accident during working hours (in the workplace) and, as a result, the worker is injured “permanently,” then they will be entitled to get the following benefits. 

Legal obligation:

1. The injured worker shall be provided treatment at the expense of the employer.

According to section 89 (7) of the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 (BLA): “The treatment of a worker or an employee suffering from professional disease or work-time accident shall be continued by a competent or specialist medical practitioner at the expense and responsibility of the employer until such worker or employee is fully cured of such disease, hurt or sickness.”

According to this section, the employers are liable to give all medical support for proper treatment of the injured worker as long as needed.

2. Section 82 of the EPZ Act says: (1) Where a worker gives notice of an accident, the employer shall, within three days of service of such notice, cause the worker to be examined at the expense of the employer by a medical practitioner. It further says in (3) that medical examination, treatment under sub-section (1), and details related thereof shall be determined by regulation.

3. The worker shall be entitled to get the compensation as envisaged under section 151 (1) (b) of the BLA.

The section says that: “The amount of compensation shall be where permanent total disablement results from the injury the sum mentioned in the third column of the fifth schedule.”

 The amount of compensation mentioned in the third column of the fifth schedule of the BLA is Tk250,000 -- whatever be the amount of basic wages of the worker.

4. As per section 151 (1) (d) of the BLA, in case of temporary disablement -- whether total or partial -- resulting from the injury, a monthly compensation shall be payable on the first day of the month following the month in which it is due after the expiry of a waiting period of four days from the date of disablement, and thereafter shall be payable for the period of disablement or for a period as specified in the last column of the fifth schedule, whichever is shorter.

The last column of the fifth schedule provides that compensation shall be paid for the period of disablement or for one year, whichever is shorter. Such compensation shall be paid at the rate of full monthly wages for the first two months, at the rate of two-thirds of the monthly wages for the next two months, and at the rate of half of monthly wages for the subsequent months.

Temporary disability (TD) determines when the workers return to work, or when the doctor grants permission that the worker may return to work, or states that he can work without any kind of problems.

In the case of prolonged occupational disease, compensation for disablement shall be paid at the rate of half of monthly wages during the period of disablement, but such period shall in no case exceed two years.

5. Section 74 (1) (b) of the EPZ Act states where permanent total disablement results from the injury, the sum mentioned in thethird column of the fifth schedule shall be payable as compensation. The amount mentioned in the third column of the fifth Schedule of the EPZ Act is Tk2,50,000 -- whatever be the amount of basic wages of the worker.

The worker will also get the benefit from the group insurance as envisaged in section 99 (3) of the BLA. However, the provision says that if a central fund is established by the government in a 100% export-oriented industrial sector under sub-section (3) of section 232, or 100% foreign money investors in an export-oriented industrial sector, group insurance for the workers of such industrial sectors shall not be necessary. In such cases, the workers shall be paid from such funds equal to the money of the group insurance.

Please note that the central fund for the garments sector was established under Rule 214 of the Bangladesh Labour Rules, 2015 (BLR). According to the rule, the source of the central fund will be: 

(a) 0.03% of total value of export against each work-order of a hundred percent export oriented industrial establishment;

(b) Voluntary contributions by the buyers or work-order issuing establishment;

(c) Voluntary donation from the government;

(d) Voluntary donations from any national or foreign individual or establishment; and

(e) Interest received from investment of the fund.

A worker under the EPZ Act can also be benefitted from group insurance as mentioned in section 32 of the EPZ Act.

Now, the question is whether this current compensation system for workplace death and injuries adequate for workers, especially for the workers who are not working in 100% export-oriented garments sectors. 

Is the current compensation system sufficient?

Under the current legal structure for compensation for workplace injuries and deaths due to accident, we can highlight the following observations from the experience of the Rana Plaza disaster: 

1.Both employers and workers in Bangladesh are at risk from a catastrophic accident in the workplace.

2. Employers are at risk of financial failure because they have no affordable and universal protection against the risk of suchan accident.

3.Workers are at risk because in cases of catastrophic losses, funds may not be available to pay the compensation they areentitled to. Workers are further at risk because the administrative scheme in place for the recovery of that compensation is ineffective and does not provide improved access to medical treatment and rehabilitation. 

4.Furthermore, the Rana Plaza compensation scheme has served to highlight the inadequacy of the levels of compensationthat are currently specified in the Bangladesh Labour Act for a workplace death or disabling injury.

5.Because there was no pre-existing fund established by employers or by the government to protect against such acatastrophic loss, funds needed to be raised. (Because of the export nature of the RMG industry and the susceptibility to public image, funds were raised from outside the country. That may not be possible if the disaster were a purely domestic industrial undertaking.)

6.The Rana Plaza experience highlighted what can happen as a result of the lack of enforcement of OHS and building safetystandards and the need for greater compliance.

To address these issues, it is high time for Bangladesh to introduce an Employment Injury Insurance (EII) scheme as per the

ILO convention 121. The International Labour Organization (ILO), Germany [Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)] and the government of Bangladesh are committed to work in collaboration for the development of an Employment Injury Insurance (EII) Scheme for Bangladesh since 2015.

And now, the government of Bangladesh shall take the front seat to drive the initiative to form and implement the Employment Injury Insurance (EII) Scheme for the workers of Bangladesh to ensure adequate compensation for workplace accidents.

A new system

Furthermore, an efficient EII scheme strengthens the social fabric of a nation. It protects employers from catastrophic loss and provides a safety net for disabled workers and the dependents of deceased workers. It is a system that is self-funding.

Employers who are liable for the loss suffered by injured and deceased workers fund the system through a levy on their business. The EII systems generally have a “return to work objective” and a rehabilitation component. The protection of the country’s workforce and a commitment to the rehabilitation of the disabled is clear evidence of a “caring society” and a commitment to a healthy and prosperous population.

The government of Bangladesh should be cognizant of the need for an insurance fund against a catastrophic industrial accident. In the case of Rana Plaza external funding was available, largely because of the export nature of industry and the susceptibility of the international purchasers of ready-made garments to western consumer pressure. In other sectors and industries, external funds for the compensation of victims may not be available and pressure will fall on government resources where employers fail.

From the government perspective, there are other incidental positive outcomes from an effective EII scheme. An EII scheme highlights to employers the cost of workplace injuries and encourages safer workplaces. Enforcement of Occupational Health and Safety rules is always a challenge for the government.

As much as possible, governments should encourage voluntary compliance by employers. When employers see an annual assessment for the cost of accidents, they have an incentive towards voluntary compliance with regulations.

Again, although it is an incidental contribution, the funding and the systematic referral of injured workers to medical treatment and rehabilitation does have a positive impact on the development of those services.

Arafat Hosen Khan is Barrister at Law, and Advocate, Bangladesh Supreme Court. He is also Senior Lecturer, Department of Law, North South University and Legal Advisor, bridging solution of Employment Injury Protection Scheme (EIPS), GiZ.

On 30 June 2021, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) organised a virtual webinar to launch the report “Tire Them Out: Challenges of litigating compensation claims under the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006’ (https://www.blast.org.bd/content/report/Challenges-of-litigating-compensation- claims-under-the%20Bangladesh-Labour-Act-2006-(2020).pdf) published by BLAST and authored by Taqbir Huda, Research Specialist, BLAST. While the existing compensation framework under labour law is widely criticised to be inefficient, there is little empirical data and analysis available to assess how it has functioned in practice. Therefore, this research report aims to fill this gap and unearth the common hurdles faced by injured workers and family members of deceased workers when they seek compensation in Labour Courts.
The report presents findings from 80 compensation cases under the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 Labour Courts where BLAST (in collaboration with Safety and Rights Society, and, OSHE Bangladesh) has represented claimants or sued on their behalf. These 80 cases were disposed of by Labour Courts in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khulna and Chittagong between 2008 and 2019. Combined with Key Informant
Interviews (KIIs), discussions with legal professionals and an extensive review of local labour laws, the report highlights the drawbacks of the current system and makes a number of recommendations for legal and institutional reform to the government, workers’ rights organisations and the legal fraternity. The findings and recommendations of this report can help inform ongoing advocacy on labour law reform and development of the proposed Employment Injury Insurance (EII) scheme in Bangladesh. The research for the report was conducted from 2018 to 2020, with support from Laudes Foundation.
Taqbir Huda, Research Specialist, BLAST and author of the report said: “This report has been an attempt to expose the failure of our labour laws in ensuring justice for workers deaths and injuries. Non compliance on part of employers with Labour Court orders cannot and should not be the norm. As we pride ourselves in becoming a middle income country, we must also invest in ensuring employment injury
insurance, which is a basic component of social security. The.national employment injury insurance in line with ILO Convention No. 121 must replace the existing group insurance scheme under labour law, but victims must retain the right to sue employers for compensation in Labour Courts since it is their negligence which usually causes the injury or death of a worker.”
Dr. Wajedul Islam Khan, General Secretary, Bangladesh Trade Union Centre and Joint Secretary General, Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) said: “Merely doubling the amount of compensation fixed in law (as was done in 2018 Amendment) can never be the solution. Calculating compensation based on the total loss of earnings, pain and suffering of the victims etc. is the only rightful way. The duty to compensate should also extend to those who benefit from the profit derived from the workers’ labour, alongside the employer.”
AKM Nasim, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh and Deputy Country Director, Solidarity Center Bangladesh said “The findings of the report, while harrowing, confirm something we have known for years. That the compensation framework is miserably failing workers. Labour law requires immediate reform. For instance, an alternative dispute resolution can be incorporated to speeden up the claims process. An employment injury insurance in line with international labour law must also be introduced. However any reform of the labour law must be a tripartite effort – where workers representation is ensured.”
Sara Hossain, Honorary Executive Director, BLAST said: “The findings of the report show that when victims of injustice such workplace deaths and injuries seek justice in Labour Courts they are subjected to another set of injustices, whereby continuing the court case becomes an extremely costly endeavour. This is precisely why an employment injury insurance scheme is the need of the hour, so victims have speedy recourse to compensation. Additionally, extending the operation of virtual courts throughout the justice system, such as to Labour Courts, instead of keeping it limited would go a long way in addressing the challenges and costs specific to a physical court system.”
Sunzida Sultana, acting executive director, Karmojibi Nari said “As the report has shown, the fixed amount of compensation is leading to injustice. Compensation can never be fixed. ILO and other organisations are attempting to introduce the Employment Injury Insurance system in Bangladesh, but the employers’ disinterest is
obstructing the process. Additionally, ensuring freedom to form trade unions in all sectors can also be an important step to ensuring speedy recovery of compensation for workers from all occupations.”
Dr. Kamal Hossain “We need to remove the existing limit on compensation in our labour law so victims receive adequate relief. A national database needs to be established which tracks the number of workers killed and injured at the workplace across the country, and also tracks whether they have been given compensation or not. I hope these reform proposals presented in this research report will play an
important role in informing the ongoing labour law reform process and those working to ensure labour rights.”
Representatives from other workers rights organisations, such as Kalpona Akter of Bangladesh Centre for Workers Solidarity, Naimul Ahsan Jewel, Member Secretary, National Coordination Committee for Workers Education (NCCWE), Nazma Akter, Awaj Foundation and academics from public and private universities also attended and shared their views at the webinar.

According to a recent study conducted by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), the labour law of Bangladesh is failing to ensure justice and compensation for workers killed and injured at workplaces throughout the nation.

The report titled "Tire Them Out: Challenges of litigating compensation claims under the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006", authored by BLAST Research Specialist Taqbir Huda, showcased the findings of  80 compensation cases under the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 Labour Courts where BLAST (in collaboration with Safety and Rights Society, and, OSHE Bangladesh) has represented claimants or sued on their behalf.

The paper was launched via a webinar organised by BLAST on Thursday, said a press release.

According to the study findings, out of these 80 cases, the Labour Court ordered compensation in 35 cases, while it rejected the claim in 36 cases. In the remaining 9 cases, the parties reached an out of court settlement before the Labour Court could pronounce a judgment.

The study shows that Long litigation periods, employer non-compliance and long distances from courts have hindered the worker's path to attaining justice. The study also found that delay in payment on the part of the employer and at the nonpayment cases have also been found despite the court orders.

In regards to the study, the author Taqbir Huda said: "This report has been an attempt to expose the failure of our labour laws in ensuring justice for workers deaths and injuries. Non-compliance on part of employers with Labour Court orders cannot and should not be the norm. As we pride ourselves on becoming a middle-income country, we must also invest in ensuring employment injury insurance, which is a basic component of social security. The national employment injury insurance in line with ILO Convention No 121 must replace the existing group insurance scheme under labour law, but victims must retain the right to sue employers for compensation in Labour Courts since it is their negligence that usually causes the injury or death of a worker."

General Secretary, Bangladesh Trade Union Centre and Joint Secretary General,

Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) Dr Wajedul Islam Khan, said, "Merely doubling the amount of compensation fixed in law (as was done in 2018 Amendment) can never be the solution. Calculating compensation based on the total loss of earnings, pain and suffering of the victims etc. is the only rightful way. The duty to compensate should also extend to those who benefit from the profit derived from the workers' labour, alongside the employer."

AKM Nasim, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh and Deputy Country Director, Solidarity Center Bangladesh said "The findings of the report, while harrowing, confirm something we have known for years. That the compensation framework is miserably failing workers. Labour law requires immediate reform. For instance, an alternative dispute resolution can be incorporated to speeding up the claims process. An employment injury insurance in line with international labour law must also be introduced. However, any reform of the labour law must be a tripartite effort - where workers representation is ensured."

Sara Hossain, Honorary Executive Director, BLAST said: "The findings of the report show that when victims of injustice such workplace deaths and injuries seek justice in Labour Courts they are subjected to another set of injustices, whereby continuing the court case becomes an extremely costly endeavour. This is precisely why an employment injury insurance scheme is the need of the hour, so victims have speedy recourse to compensation. Additionally, extending the operation of virtual courts throughout the justice system, such as to Labour Courts, instead of keeping it limited would go a long way in addressing the challenges and costs specific to a physical court system."

Sunzida Sultana, acting executive director, Karmojibi Nari said "As the report has shown, the fixed amount of compensation is leading to injustice. Compensation can never be fixed. ILO and other organisations are attempting to introduce the Employment Injury Insurance system in Bangladesh, but the employers' disinterest is obstructing the process. Additionally, ensuring freedom to form trade unions in all sectors can also be an important step to ensuring speedy recovery of compensation for workers from all occupations."

Dr Kamal Hossain "We need to remove the existing limit on compensation in our labour law so victims receive adequate relief. A national database needs to be established which tracks the number of workers killed and injured at the workplace across the country, and also tracks whether they have been given compensation or not. I hope these reform proposals presented in this research report will play an important role in informing the ongoing labour law reform process and those working to ensure labour rights."

Long litigation periods and non-compliance by employers result in delayed injustice

According to the study, labour courts took 630 days on average to award compensation compared to the 60-day time limit mentioned in labour law resulting in long litigation periods

Employers often do not comply with Labour Court orders to compensate for workers deaths and injuries, delaying the justice process even further.

The study also found that in cases where compensation was not pre-deposited by employers, on average they took up to 475 more days to pay compensation from the date of the Labour Court order, despite the Court usually ordering them to pay the compensation within 30- 45 days. In 16 out of 35 cases where the Labour Court ordered compensation, the employers are yet to pay compensation despite between 3 to 10 years have elapsed from the date of the judgment ordering compensation.

The average distance between the victim's home upazila and Labour Court was 201 KM, meaning they had to incur long and costly journeys to attend court hearings.

The long-distance to Labour Courts taken together with the long litigation period and seemingly endless wait to receive compensation means that victims incur high transport costs and lose faith in getting justice.

Remove limits on compensation and introduce employment injury insurance schemes

In the study, it was urged to amend the 5th schedule to the BLA, so the existing statutorily capped lump sum amounts, which are extremely inadequate and arbitrary, are treated as the minimum amount of compensation payable in the event of death or permanent disablement.

The report also urged to introduce a provision in Chapter XII of the BLA that obliges Labour Courts to follow basic principles of damages assessment in tort law (e.g. factoring in the age and loss of earnings of the worker, number of dependents etc.) when adjudicating compensation cases under the BLA.

It has also been urged to ratify ILO Conventions No 102 and 121 and establish an "Employment Injury Insurance scheme" in place of the group insurance system while preserving workers' rights to sue employers in cases of negligence.

Introduce strict monitoring mechanisms and increase the number of courts The BLAST study also suggested the introduction of a strict monitoring mechanism to ensure timely disposal of Labour Court cases in line with the statutory limit and stipulate disciplinary consequences if the limit is breached, so it is more likely to have a binding effect in practice.

It has also been urged to increase the number of labour courts and introduce training programmes for labour court judges, focusing on the basic principles of employer liability for workplace injuries and deaths.

The study also urged the authorities concerned to issue a circular to all labour courts, which specifically requires labour courts to order interest to accrue in cases of late payment of a compensation award to incentivise timely compliance.

The government has decided to remove the components of development projects that are not deemed indispensable, as part of its austerity measures amid concerns over the global economic downturn and depleting foreignexchange reserves.

The authorities will slash allocations for such project components in the revised annual development programme (ADP) for the current fiscal year 2022-23, according to decisions made in an inter-ministerial meeting held on 8 January with the Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah in the chair.

In the meeting, all the ministries and divisions were instructed to identify the "nonessential" components of development projects, say the minutes of the meeting themed "ADP Implementation Progress and Macro Economic Situation". The meeting was aimed at increasing efficiency in development and operating cost management.

Earlier, the government banned unnecessary foreign trips, meeting allowances, and buying cars under development projects.

The meeting pointed out that most of the projects taken up by the Road Transport and Highways Division include the construction of rest houses which are not necessary for road projects, and ordered the exclusion of this component from all ongoing and future projects of the division.

Stakeholders said development projects in the country usually have many unimportant components which lead to the wastage of a lot of public money.

Officials of the Planning Commission told The Business Standard that besides comprising several non-important components, development projects often have additional allocations in some areas, such as consultancy costs. Many development projects do not require consultants, and yet funds are allocated to this sector, they added.

For example, they said, a road safety project had earmarked Tk440 crore for consultancy. Terming this expenditure as unusual, the Planning Commission recently ordered its exclusion from the project proposal.

While speaking about non-essential elements of development projects, an official of the Planning Commission referred to a project undertaken to increase the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation's fuel oil refining capacity that includes a proposal to upgrade a school into a college.

Since converting a school into a college involves a number of essential issues including manpower, the Planning Commission has directed the BPC to drop this proposal from its proposed Installation of Eastern Refinery Limited Unit-II project.

Every development project includes some unnecessary elements of this kind, said Planning Commission officials, adding that despite the objections of the Planning Commission, those unnecessary parts are retained most of the time.

People concerned said that Tk13 lakh to Tk20 lakh is allocated for mid-term evaluation of the projects of some organisations including the Ministry of Agriculture, the LGED, the Directorate of Social Services, and the Ministry of Water Resources. This money is taken by officials as honoraria.

Planning Commission officials feel that this type of expenditure should be excluded from any development project as these are unnecessary expenditures.

Publicity and advertisement, books, periodicals, refreshment allowances, seminars, and furniture are not indispensable for projects but allocations are made for these sectors in many development projects, they added.

Apart from this, the Planning Commission has raised questions about the trend of renting cars even though allocations have been made for buying cars in many projects.

Mustafa K Mujeri, former director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), said every development project is taken up with a key purpose, but implementing agencies add various components to the project beyond the original objective. And a project having too many components means a waste of money.

"The government has decided to cut off non-essential components [of development projects] only from the consideration that we are struggling in the current economic situation. This is a good initiative even if it is late."

He, however, suggested that necessary measures should be taken so that unnecessary elements cannot be added to a project during its formulation time. Unnecessary elements must be eliminated to restore discipline in development project implementation, he added.

State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam told TBS that the government is emphasising project management to save costs.

The decision to cut non-essential project components is a timely move, he noted, adding, "This means that the money allocated for development projects will be properly utilised."

To rein in unnecessary expenditure in the public sector, the Finance Division issued a circular in November 2022 banning foreign trips by officials under development projects. The government also issued a similar circular in July last year.

Besides, in July 2022, the government issued a circular to stop paying honoraria for attending meetings on development projects.

In view of the current economic situation, the government has also halted allocations, either fully or partially, to several projects on a priority basis to reduce the cost of development projects.