Bangladesh Institue of Labour Studies-BILS and Sramik Karmacahri Oikya Parishad (SKOP) jointly organised a discussion meeting titled “National Standard of Compensation for Dead and Injured Workers at Workplace Accident” on March 21, 2017 at CIRDAP Auditorium, Chameli House, 17 Topkhana Road, Dhaka.
State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque, MP was present as Chief Guest in the meeting, while BILS Vice Chairman Alhaj Sukkur Mahamud was in the chair. Among others, Bangladesh Sramik Kalyan Foundation Director General Dr AMM Anisul Awal, Sramik Karmochari Oikya Parichad Joint Coordinator Mesbahuddin Ahmed, BILS Advisory Council Member Roy Ramesh Chandra, BILS Joint Secretary General Md. Zafrul Hasan, Dr. Wajedul Islam Khan, Bangladesh Employers Federation Labour Advisor Kazi Saifuddin Ahmed, National Human Rights Commission Director Ishrat Hossain Khan, Sramik Karmochari Oikya Parishad Joint Coordinator Choudhuey Ashiqul Alam, IndustriAll Bangladesh Chairman Amirul Haque Amin, Secretary General Kutub Uddin Ahmed, Samajtantrik Sramik Front General Secretary Razekuzzaman Ratan, Garments Sramik Karmochari Oikya Parishad Joint Coordinator Quamrul Ahsan and Naimul Ahsan Jewel, Bangladesh Supreme Court Lawyer Barrister Taposh Kanti Baul, Bangladesh Nirman Sramik League General Secretary Sheikh Md. Nurul Haque, Imarat Nirman Sramik Union Bangladesh General Secretary Md. Abdur Razzak, BLAST Deputy Director Advocate Md. Barkat Ali and BILS Executive Director Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmmed participated in the meeting. Besides, BILS affiliated and SKOP associated national Trade Union Federations and BILS leaders, Ministry of Labour and Employment Senior officials, representatives of BGMEA, BEF, experts, Human Rights and Development workers and Trade Union leaders of different sectors were present in the meeting.
In the meeting State Minister said, due to the expansion of industrialization it is very important to fix a national standard of compensation for workers. He urged organizers for sending the recommendations from the discussion meeting to the Ministry.
Speakers in the meeting urged for strengthening awareness on compensation, ensuring workplace safety and protection of workers, taking recommendations from tripartite committee for fixing national standard of compensation, monitoring regular news of accident, ensuring to provide appointment letter, considering social security and insurance, taking advantages from experiences of other countries, fixing compensation with the proportion of workers income and lifetime, considering rehabilitation, welfare and social safety of their family.
BILS recently conducted a study titled, ‘Setting up National Standard of Compensation for Social Safety of Workers’ aimed at addressing the issue of compensation for dead and injured workers. In this regard, recommendations were drawn from a roundtable jointly organised by BILS and SKOP on December 18, 2016. In a view to place and discuss those recommendations in presence of all parties and to set up standard for workers compensation, this discussion meeting was organised.
