RMG employment injury scheme expands coverage to commuting accidents

The government has expanded the coverage of its pilot employment injury scheme by including compensation for accidents that may occur when workers are commuting to and from work.

The governance board of the Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) Pilot, during its 8th meeting on 13 May, unanimously approved the inclusion of 'commuting accidents' as industrial accidents, making workers eligible for compensation starting from 1 July.

"We are very pleased to include commuting accidents in the Employment Injury Scheme Pilot to ensure protection of industries and workers in Bangladesh," said Md Mahbub Hossain, secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE), while chairing the meeting.

The decision was unanimously supported by employers' organisations – BEF, BGMEA, BKMEA, workers' organisations – UFGW, NCCWE, and government agencies – Central Fund, DoL, DIFE, who are members of the EIS Pilot Governance Board, according to the International Labour Organization.

"Since 21 June 2022, the EIS Pilot has been compensating injured workers and the dependents of deceased workers in the ready-made garments sector for work-related accidents," said Tuomo Poutiainen, ILO's country director for Bangladesh.

With this inclusion of commuting accidents, the initiative is expected to provide enhanced protection to workers and improve industrial relations, which are often disrupted by accidents involving workers on their way to or from work, Poutiainen said.

The ILO's technical experts provided insights into key aspects of the technical and financial aspects of such an expansion, including conditions for considering commuting accidents as workplace accidents but keeping separate records as these accidents take place outside the factory and not identifying them with any factory.

Additionally, they presented a strong case for the financial sustainability of the coverage of accidents under the EIS Pilot.

Members of the employers' association said they support fundamental rights of workers for social protection and would be happy to consider new benefits provided they do not affect the industry's competitiveness. 

The workers' representatives also expressed their commitment to support the initiative, saying the RMG sector is a relatively safe sector, but commuting is a horrible part of the job, therefore commuting accidents are important to be covered. 

Article 7 of the ILO Employment Injury Benefits Convention No 121 (C-121) requires countries to define industrial accidents, including the conditions under which a commuting accident is considered to be an industrial accident.

Adapting this measure brings the Bangladesh EIS one-step in closer alignment with the requirements outlined in C -121.

In the ambit of the EIS Pilot, commuting accidents are considered accidents sustained while on the direct way between the place of work and the workers' local residence. With the inclusion of commuting accidents in the EIS Pilot,which now covers two out of three recommended vulnerabilities, with 'Occupational Diseases' is yet to be covered.

A process has however started to develop the national capacity and data on occupational diseases.

The ILO and GIZ are jointly providing technical support to the government, employers', and workers' organisations in implementing the pilot.

The ILO initiative is funded by the governments of the Netherlands and Canada, whereas the GIZ initiative is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).