Take the Employment Injury Scheme Nationwide Across All Sectors
Every working person wants security of his/her life and livelihood as well as that of their family.
As to why, a worker comes to work. But a sudden accident at the workplace shatters one’s dream.
Because of accidental death, a worker’s family becomes helpless. Being disabled, he/she becomes a burden to the family and society due to lack of earnings.
Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) Pilot is an initiative that provides long- term financial assistance to the dependents of the victims or permanently disabled workers for workplace disability or death.
However, it is meant for approximately 4 million workers, mostly women, of the export-oriented readymade garment sector.
On 21 June, 2022, EIS Pilot was launched by the government, in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), international brands and the Employers’ Association. Under the project, a monthly- basis pension is provided to the affected worker or his/her family members.
The amount of pension is determined within 40-60 percent of the victim’s latest gross wage.
According to the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies-BILS, under the EIS Scheme Pilot, an amount of Tk 4,28,31,572 has been distributed among the dependents of 161 dead workers and 87 workers who got disabled permanently in 248 accidents. Presently, the total number of beneficiaries is 574.
The EIS Pilot project is being run with the technical assistance of the ILO Bangladesh and the giZ, while it is financed by the Netherlands, Canada and the European Union.
Meanwhile, in the latest amendment of Bangladesh Labour Law 2026, there is a provision of incorporating the formation of the EIS Fund.
It is expected that the issue of social protection for workers will be ensured through the ongoing amendment process of labour-related laws of Bangladesh.
A media orientation was organised recently in the capital’s Jatiya Press Club under the joint aegis of the BILS and the ILO Bangladesh.
The media orientation has urged the journalist community to play an active role in implementing the Universal Social Protection programme in the formal sector by circulating the initiative among the mass working population.
Meantime, the BILS and the ILO have implemented awareness programmes under EIS Pilot within a period from November 2025 and September 2026.
As part of it, 40 awareness sessions have been conducted in Gazipur, Bhaluka, Narayanganj, Savar, Ashulia and Chattagram regions.
A total of 1,023 workers of 438 factories took part in the sessions. Of them, 39 percent were women and 61 percent men.
The programmes were implemented through 16 sectoral trade union federations that work in RMG industrial sector and 12 national trade union federations under the National Coordination Committee for Workers’ Education-NCCW.
Social protection is one of the important foundations of a modern welfare state.
Alongside poverty alleviation, the main objective of social protection is to provide security to individuals and families in combating the risk of life and situations of losing earnings.
EIS can contribute to tackling the risk at the workplace, lessening the risk of losing earnings, ensuring social protection, fulfilling the international labour standard, developing worker-owner relationships, accomplishing the responsibility of legal and humanitarian activities and reducing poverty.
It is well-known that working people are victims of exploitation, deprivation and discrimination.
Aiming to freeing workers from discrimination, exploitation, protecting their rights and fair play, the Labour Reform Commission of 2025 in its report mentioned about workers’ social protection for tackling adverse situations like workplace disaster, death, inability to work, illness and retirement including maternity protection.
During the previous national election, different political parties gave commitments of taking various steps for social protection of the working population and their welfare.
The incumbent government has also committed for expansion of the jurisdiction of the social protection programme, increase the amount of allowance following inflation, mandatory pension fund for workers in the unofficial sector, create lasting employment opportunities in poverty-stricken and backward areas, People-friendly National Citizen Service, give priority to impoverished population, formation of special fund for poor orphans and children as well as commitments of providing family card and farmer card signifying the concept of the Universal Social Protection.
Meanwhile, the BILS has prepared statistics of dead and injured workers in different sectors of Bangladesh during a period from January to June 2026.
It shows that most of the workers belonged to the transport sector (223 dead and 18 injured workers).
It is imperative to create a Universal Social Protection system for a large number of working population, including those employed in the non-formal sector.
Without implementing social protection, it is not possible to create a safe and well-protected working environment.
The organisers of the aforementioned media orientation expect that the national news and mass media institutions will play an active role in creating a strong public opinion in this regard through massive publicity among the working population, policymakers as well as national and international actors.
With the objective of ensuring a safe and well-protected, dignified and fair workplace as well as ensuring the livelihood of the vast population of workers and their families, the following recommendations came out from the media orientation.
These are:
# Implement Employment Injury Scheme imitating the EIS Pilot model.
# As part of the Universal Social Protection programme, bring the non-formal sector under the purview of Employment Injury Scheme.
# Announce Employment Injury Scheme as universal by formulating necessary laws after the expiry of EIS Pilot (2027).
(The writer is a senior journalist and columnist. E-mail: zamkhairz@ gmail.com)
