Mutual trust and collective engagement ensure socio-economic rights of workers
Mutual trust between the employers and employees in garment factories in Dhaka increased from 24% to 63% due to training and engaging with follow-up activity from the project 'Ekotay Morjada' (unity for dignity).
Terre des Hommes (TDH) Italia, along with its partner organisations, Karmojibi Nari (KN) and Shobujer Ovijan Foundation (SOF), is implementing the project with the aim to promote the socio-economic rights of domestic and ready-made garment (RMG) workers in Dhaka.
Co-funded by the European Union, the project is going to be ended this month.
In this connection, a project closing conference was held at the Six Season Hotel (Gressho Ballroom) in Gulshan on 19 December, reads a press release.
From the evaluation report, it came out that positive attitude of the employers to workers changed from 13% to 32% due to the project activity.
Thirty-three committee formation and reformation had been done in the RMG factories with the help of the project activity.
At the same time, workers also have access to right based information and they are getting day care facilities from the project. A total of 26 day care centres have been established in the factory and community level.
Women's café also established where workers get access to right based knowledge. Worker's groups also established as collective platforms to articulate their interest with employers.
From the evaluation report, it is evident that workers' engagement in collective action increase from 21% to 54%.
Addressing the event as a special guest, Jurate Smalskyte Merville, team leader for the Education, Human Development and PFM portfolio, said that the project has achieved a quite remarkable achievement and it is seen a positive change in the socioeconomic rights of the workers.
In his speech as the chief guest, Dr Mohammad Abdul Kader, deputy secretary of MOLE said that the collaboration between NGO and government is very much needed for the development of workers. At the seme time all classes of people, stakeholders are needed to work combinedly for establishing workers' rights.
Md Abu Ashrif Mahmud, director of the Department of Labour; Abul Hossain, advisor of NDWWU and coordinator (in charge); Sekender Ali Mina, member secretary (in charge) of SNF attended the vent as special guests.