Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury on Wednesday distributed financial assistance worth nearly Tk5 crore among 583 workers to support medical treatment, families of deceased workers and the education of workers’ children.
The cheques were handed over at a programme held at the conference room of Shram Bhaban under the Bangladesh Labour Welfare Foundation, which operates under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
The minister attended the event as the chief guest, while Md Abdur Rahman Tarafdar, secretary of the ministry, chaired the programme.
Addressing the event, Ariful Haque Choudhury said the assistance was provided to workers from Dhaka, Gazipur, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Tangail and Narayanganj. He described it as the largest grant distributed to workers since the current government assumed office.
Highlighting the government’s commitment to workers’ welfare, the minister said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman regularly emphasised that a healthy workforce increases production and that workers’ well-being contributes to the country’s overall development.
He said many large companies had failed to deposit their stipulated share of profits with the Labour Welfare Foundation before the current government took office.
The government is now recovering the outstanding payments and distributing the funds directly to workers, he added.
Emphasising the importance of cordial relations between employers and workers, the minister said wage increases could be negotiated with employers if industrial production and earnings grew.
He said there would be no need for street protests to secure higher wages if factories remained operational, production increased and harmonious relations were maintained between employers and workers.
Urging workers not to be incited by others, he advised them to report any irregularities in factories to labour inspectors instead of blocking roads and causing public suffering.
“If workers inform the government of problems in advance, preventive measures can be taken,” he said, adding that workers’ cooperation and increased factory production could enable the government to double the amount of financial assistance in the future.
The minister also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting workers’ children in pursuing higher education. He said appropriate measures would be taken to ensure that meritorious students from workers’ families were not deprived of higher education due to financial constraints.
The programme was conducted by Syed Irtiza Ahsan, director of the Workers’ Welfare Foundation.
Among others present were Md Farhad Siddiq, inspector general of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, and Md Abdus Samad Al Azad, director general of the Department of Labour, along with other officials from the ministry and its various departments.
