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Food ration for RMG workers

PM to open programme on May 1

Staff Correspondent
The government is going to start food rationing for 30 lakh readymade garment (RMG) workers at a subsidised rate from May 1.
Labour and Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain disclosed it after a meeting with leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturersand Exporters Association (BGMEA) at his ministry yesterday.
"We are now finalising the modality of the programme." the minister toldThe Daily Star.
He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would launch food rationing in Dhaka.
The minister said the initiative would help keep the prices of essentials within the reach of poor people, especially garment
workers.
Asked about the budget for this massive programme, the minister said the Food and "Disaster Management Ministry hasbeenworkingonit.
BGMEA President Abdus Salam Murshedy, who led the business delegation at the meeting said, "We asked the ministry' concerned to run the food rationing for 12 months from May 1, although it was planned for a three-month period."
Under the programme, every' worker would be able u > buy 20 kgs of rice per month at Tk 18 per kg, showing their service booksoridentity cards.
Around 30 lakh RMG workers will be brought under this food rationing programme across the country. BGMEA and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), the two leading trade bodies for woven and knitwear, will shoulder the responsibility of coordination with thegovernment.
The BGMEA president, however, said spots and other modalities of the programme are yet to be finalised.
At the meeting, the labour and employment minister assured that the export-oriented businesses would get government stimulus package soon.
He also asked the BGMEA not to go for any retrenchment move in the wake of the ongoing global economic recession.
"We have asked the apparel industry owners not to cut jobs following the global economic meltdown," said the minister.
In September last year, the trade bodies concerned sold rice among RMG workers at a subsidised rate when the prices of essentials shot up on the local market.