ILO, BGMEA, BKMEA launch COVID-19 safety 'Learning Hub'

02 Jul 20 2 min read

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) in partnership with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) recently launched a safety and training package to help the readymade garment (RMG) industry better protect and monitor workers and working conditions during the pandemic.

As more and more workers return to work, the RMG ‘Learning Hub’ will focus on three core areas: raising COVID-19 prevention awareness among workers and factory management; ensuring COVID-19 occupational safety and health (OSH) preparedness guidelines are being followed; and continuing to promote strong social dialogue in the workplace.
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Developed by the ILO, the ‘Learning Hub’ will serve as a one-stop virtual platform and has been made possible through $750,000 of financial support from Sweden and Denmark. An additional $250,000 has been contributed by several existing ILO funding partners, such as Australia, Canada, the European Union (EU), Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, the US Department of Labour (USDOL) and the UK Department for International Development.

The first phase of the one-year initiative (July 2020-June 2021) will start with the ‘virtual’ training of 150 BGMEA and BKMEA-nominated ‘master trainers’ followed by a ‘training of the trainers’ rollout. Once the current situation permits, the safety training sessions will be physically rolled out to BGMEA and BKMEA factories.

The ILO will also offer the same package of COVID-19 safety training for ‘master trainers’ from the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF) as well as the government and leading workers’ organisations like the Workers Resource Centre (WRC), the National Coordination Committee for Worker's Education (NCCWE) and the IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC), said an ILO press release.

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