Leaders of the country's apparel apex body and rights activists urged the government to bring the garment workers under the Covid-19 vaccination programme on a priority basis considering them as frontliners.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in a letter to the health ministry on July 05, made the request.
The letter said millions of garment workers and employees had been working in factories risking their lives since the beginning of the pandemic to date.
Terming the workers 'main driving force of the economy, the BGMEA in the letter also said many foreigners were also working in the factories legally and also playing an important role.
The trade body urged the government to allocate Covid-19 vaccines for garment workers and also for foreigners working in the sector on an emergency basis.
The BGMEA in a separate letter on Wednesday urged its member factories to get their respective workers, aged 35 years and more, registered for Covid vaccination through the government official website or Surokkha App.
It also asked its members to direct the foreigners working in the sector and their respective families to get registered for Covid vaccines through the government App.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Revolutionary Garments Workers Federation in a statement demanded immediate vaccines for all garment workers.
The Federation's President and General Secretary Salahuddin Sopon and Papia Akter in the joint statement alleged that the government, BGMEA, and BKMEA were doing injustice to the 4.0 million garment workers, who contribute most to the foreign currency earnings during the strict lockdown.
The 'strict lockdown cannot see the success, keeping the garment factories open, said the statement.
The garment workers are engaged in production activities during the lockdown while risking their lives, the statement added.
Therefore, labour leaders demanded risk allowance and transportation for the workers for their service during the pandemic time.
They demanded a risk allowance of up to 70 per cent of their monthly wages, transportation for all workers, and a daily transport allowance of TK 200 if factories failed to provide transportation.
Another workers' platform, Bangladesh OSK Garments, and Textile Workers Federation, in a separate statement said though workers living adjacent to the factories are joining their workplaces on foot, those who live in distant placesare suffering a lot.
Many factories are not providing any vehicles; so workers have to bear the additional costs as a transportation fare, they alleged.
Even many factories threatened to terminate workers, cut off wages, and withdraw their attendance bonus if they remain absent for one or two days due to the lockdown, the statement alleged.
The workers' leaders also urged the factory authorities not to mark the workers 'absent' if they reach factories late due to the vehicle crisis in the lockdown.
