Make workers' welfare body functional
Demand labour rights activists
Labour rights activists and trade union leaders yesterday demanded the government to immediately make Workers' Welfare Foundation functional, formed five years back.
They suggested government allocation for it in the next budget, alongside contributions by industry owners and workers.
The demands came at a post-May Day seminar titled "Labour Welfare and Workers' Welfare Foundation: Present status and imperatives" organised by Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city.
The foundation, a legal entity, had none of the government's or industry owners' contribution since its creation. Only a few companies provided Tk 54 lakh from their workers' welfare fund, said speakers.
The foundation's law says fund sources could be its investments, contributions from the government, industries and profit percentages that companies share with workers, said Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, assistant executive director of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies.
Of 4.5 crore workers, 3.5 are in the informal sectors including agriculture, rice mills, light engineering, construction, foundry etc. The foundation could greatly help these workers, as they lack death and accident insurances, he said.
The industries, spending huge sums in advertisement, can make a notable contribution, he said.
"However, fixing the criteria on who would benefit from the fund is a vital question that the government should finalise immediately," Ahmed said.
Kazi Saifuddin Ahmed, adviser to Bangladesh Employers' Federation, said it would not be reasonable to collect contribution for the fund from the profit percentage that workers get.
Jatiya Sramik League Chairman Abdul Matin Master demanded seed money for the foundation from the government immediately.
Addressing the seminar as the chief guest, State Minister for labour and employment Begum Monnujan Sufian said the government has almost finalised fixing the fund issue.
"The rules for fund use must be strict. All concerned must know that this money is for a very holy purpose," she said.
The foundation Director General Abdur Razzaque and Abu Sayeed Mohammad Khurshid Alam, labour director at the Directorate of Labour, spoke at the programme, moderated by MJF Director Dr Shameem Imam.
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