The government has increased the short-term emergency cash support for unemployed workers of export-oriented industries by Tk2,000.

Workers who lost their jobs since June will now receive Tk5,000 per month under the “Unemployed Workers’ Protection Programme,” up from the previous Tk3,000.

Labour ministry officials said new guidelines in this regard were issued in June.

They said unemployed workers will receive the cash per month for up to three months. However, if a worker finds new employment within that period, payments will stop from the month of re-employment.

According to the policy, jobless and distressed workers must apply directly to the labour department’s central fund, either physically or online. 

Applications can be submitted through Union Digital Centres, mobile apps, or web portals. Applicants must provide factory ID cards, national ID, and a registered mobile number.

Workers must have been on the factory payroll for at least six months, with proof of both employment and termination required. 

Under the new guidelines, BGMEA has instructed member factories to prepare and submit lists of eligible workers to the central fund.

Officials said workers often become unemployed due to factory lay-offs, accidents, or illness. Both permanent and contract workers – whether skilled, unskilled, manual, technical, business development, or clerical – are eligible if employed in an enterprise or industry.

The decision to increase the allowance was taken during the tenure of former labour secretary AHM Shafiquzzaman. He told TBS, “The decision was made while I was in charge. We also relaxed some conditions and procedures so workers could access the support more easily.”

The scheme was originally introduced in October 2020 to support workers in the garment and leather industries who lost jobs due to Covid-19. In 2022, it was expanded to cover jute, frozen food, and shipbuilding sectors. It has since been renamed the “Unemployed Workers’ Protection Programme.”

The programme is financed by the European Union and the German government, and is managed by the Labour Directorate’s central fund.

A senior labour ministry official, requesting anonymity, said only about 700 workers have so far received payments from the fund., “BGMEA was tasked with preparing the lists, but they are not cooperating.”

He added, “Factory owners do not want job losses to be revealed publicly, as that could raise questions from brand buyers.”