EU to provide 113m euros to support RMG workers in Bangladesh

(Karachi) The European Union will provide a fund worth 113 million euros to pay three months wages and support Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) workers who became jobless due to the impact of coronavirus pandemic.

Thousands of workers in Bangladesh's export-oriented industries and other sectors were rendered jobless after the COVID-19 outbreak.

As part of the grant, each worker will be paid approximately Tk3,000 a month for the months of June, July and August.

Earlier in April, the EU announced to provide fund worth over 334 million euros to Bangladesh to help it rescue out of the COVID-19 impacts.

Of the total grant, the Government of Bangladesh will provide cash assistance to workers, who were laid off due to the closure of factories and adversely affected by the economic fallout of the outbreak.

However, the EU officials said that the workers could be paid up to December if necessary to support them financially. The EU is still in discussion with the Economic Relations Division over the modalities of this fund utilisation.

Over 400 RMG factories laid off workers due to cancellations of orders by global apparel brands and retailers and lack of new orders from foreign buyers amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Global buyers and retailers have so far cancelled work orders worth over $3 billion, leaving these factory owners in a fund crisis and forcing them to lay off workers. These factories employed over one million workers, mostly women.

According to data, 46 factories have retrenched a total of 12,510 workers. But this number will continue to rise everyday as factories have started to cut down on costs since there are not enough work orders.