The government is keen to introduce a national social insurance scheme in Bangladesh in phases with an aim to enhance social safety of the factory workers and common people, according to an official document.Officials with knowledge of the process say a study has already been conducted on this prospective scheme, initiated by the Cabinet Division, by laying emphasis on the gradual introduction of four types of social insurance services in the country. It envisages unemployment insurance, maternity insurance, sickness insurance and employment injury Insurance, which is focused on the country’s factory workers, according to a document obtained by UNB. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has already taken steps to launch a pilot of the employment injury scheme to protect factory workers from injuries. Read more: Proposed budget’s social safety allocation not enough, speakers say at CPD dialogueOfficials involved with the process say that ensuring workers’ safety in line with the global standard is crucial as human rights organisations and workers’ rights groups are more vocal than ever about workplace safety and workers’ rights at home and abroad. Global brands, especially in the garment sector, are concerned about compliance when it comes to workers’ welfare.

The allocation for the social safety programmes in the proposed budget for FY2022-23 is not enough, experts at a dialogue of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said Thursday. The inclusion of pension benefits and interests on saving certificates included in social safety programmes is depriving the lower-income group, they said. The experts also called for increasing allocation for labour welfare and keeping a portion of industries' or factories' profit for workers. Dr Famida Khatun, executive director of CPD, chaired the discussion. Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director of CPD, delivered the keynote presentation on the proposed budget. Planning Minister MA Mannan joined the dialogue as chief guest. Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Anisul Islam Mahmud, Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance Kazi Nabil Ahmed, and former commerce minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury attended the discussion.  Mannan said, "The government cannot slash incentives in different sectors suddenly. It will take time." "The government provides food assistance to the lower income groups through family cards and open market sale (OMS),” he said. Amir Khosru questioned the transparency of the government's inflation and forex reserves data. The Bangladesh Bank has so far disbursed $7 billion EDF loans from its reserves. However, the International Monetary Fund said the central bank overstated foreign exchange reserves by showing the EDF with it. At the dialogue, different NGOs urged the government to make the grant disbursement process, which also adds to the forex reserves, easier.  At present NGOs are receiving around $700 million as  grant. Also read: Budget offers no good news for lower, middle income groups: CPD

The government is planning to widen the coverage of social safety net for the marginalised and vulnerable people as the Covid-induced loss of income and livelihood might push more people into poverty. To tackle the situation the government is planning to allocate Tk 372.35 billion in FY 2023-24 in social safety net and welfare sector and Tk 344.07 billion in FY 2022-23 The allocation in this sector in the running FY2021-22 is Tk 343.19, according to an official document. The allocation was Tk 295.58 billion in the revised budget of 2020-21 fiscal while Tk 240.86 billion and Tk 239.20 billion in 2019-20 fiscal and 2018-19 fiscal respectively. Read: Covid in Bangladesh: 11,434 more cases, 12 deaths and positivity rate rises to 28.49% Social welfare ministry, women and children affairs ministry, liberation war affairs ministry, food ministry and disaster management and relief ministry are responsible to implement social safety-linked programmes. The document, however, said that the government has set a target to bring down the poverty rate to 12.3 per cent and the extreme poverty rate to 4.5 per cent by FY 2023-24. One of the responsibilities of the social welfare ministry is to distribute various social transfers and social security services among people to eradicate poverty and extreme poverty, it said. "This is considered as an effective tool to ensure inclusive growth, and to achieve that the government has taken the social safety net programme as one of the priority activities," said the document.

The government is set to expand the social safety net in the upcoming budget as the Covid-19 has pushed at least 2.5 crore people below the poverty line. In the forefront of the beneficiaries are the elderly persons, women left by husbands and widows, said sources at the finance ministry and national board of revenue. Read: Prioritise saving lives, tackling inequality in the budget: CPD Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal will place the national budget for 2021-22 in Parliament on June 3. The budget will set aside Tk. 3420 crore for elderly persons, up from Tk2940 crore in the current fiscal. Some 97 lakh persons will get the benefits, an increase of eight lakh from the running year.  Similarly, allowances are being increased for widows and women left by husbands. Read: Parliament gets Tk 336.14cr budget for next fiscal year Their number will be 24.75 The allocation for this purpose would be Tk 1237.50 crore from the existing Tk 1230 crore. Some 18 lakh insolvent disabled, 7.70 lakh poor pregnant women and 2.75 lakh poor lactating mothers will be put under the social safety net programme, said the sources.Transport workers who are affected by the pandemic will be included in the social safety net programme. An amount of Tk 2500 crore has been earmarked for the affected transport workers. Read: Sources: Agriculture to get increased subsidy in the upcoming national budget Social welfare ministry sources said other social safety net programmes would be expanded and the ministry is working on it. In the new budget the number of transgender, bede and underprivileged beneficiaries will be increased to 95,000.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already provided financial assistance to some 36 lakh families who have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and recent natural disasters. Read: Prioritise health, education, agriculture in next budget: BNP The families include 35 lakh low-income ones engaged in different occupations including affected transport workers. The remaining one lakh are farmers affected by recent natural disasters.Each of the 35 lakh families got Tk 2,500, while Tk 5,000 was given to each of one lakh farmer families. The amount of allowance for the valiant freedom fighters of the country will also be increased. The prime minister has already announced the allowance will be raised from Tk 12,000 to Tk 20,000 for the general category. Read Freedom Fighters' allowance to rise by two-thirds from next fiscal 

Mentioning that around 46 percent people are deprived of social safety allowance, senior secretary and member of the General Economics Division (GED) of the Bangladesh Planning Commission Dr Shamsul Alam on Sunday hoped that all the poor people would come under social safety programmes soon.