The government on Monday introduced a five-year group insurance scheme for the construction workers. Labor and employment minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju launched the scheme at the secretariat after the sixth board meeting of the workers’ welfare foundation.
The minister said a construction worker would get Tk 200,000 if he or she is seriously injured while working.
If the worker dies at work, his or her family will get the same amount of money, he said.
The annual premium per worker has been set at Tk 1,300 out of which each worker has to deposit Tk 450 and the ministry — Tk 850, said the minister.
Labour ministry officials said the insurance scheme would be operated by the worker’s welfare foundation board, constituted by the labour and employment ministry.
The executive committee of the foundation, is headed by the labour ministry secretary, they said.
Until Monday, 168 construction workers enlisted their names with the workers’ welfare foundation for the insurance scheme, they said.
The officials said the labour ministry signed an agreement with Jibon Bima Corporation to open the insurance scheme for the construction workers.
In the absence of dependable data, it is assumed that about 28 lakh workers are engaged by the construction industry across the country, they said.
According to a study report of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit published last month, about 80 per cent of the construction workers in the capital work in risky environment without any safety protection.
The construction workers are, therefore, vulnerable to workplace accidents, says the report.
It identified absence of safety gears, lack of training, exposure to dust and harmful chemicals, hazardous and noisy working environment and the absence of proper toilet facilities as the main causes of workplace accidents.
-With New Age input
