December 10

9th Compensation Governance Board meeting held with the approval of 4th and 5th Quarterly Business Oversight and Financial Reports, 1st Annual Audit and Financial Statement and Report of 1st Actuarial Valuation. The compensation Governance Board meeting also endorsed the SOP for Commuting Accidents

November 26

9th Sub-Committee meeting held with the endorsement of 3 death cases, 5 cases on permanent disability, and 6 cases for commuting accidents

November 19 - 20

Training on Occupational Disease & Occupational Medicine was initiated by BBDN with physicians and allied health professionals of 12 factories

November 11 - 13

ToT on Occupational diseases & Occupational Medicine for healthcare professionals was organised jointly by GIZ and BBDN

November 3 - 4

Introductory workshops initiated on Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS) Implementation based on ISO 45001:2018 standards with 10 factory representatives by Rezia Management Consulting (RMC) Limited

November 3

Refresher training on Accident Data Tool for BKMEA trainers was organised by the ILO

October 24

Factory orientation session with BKMEA member factories on EIS Pilot was initiated by BKMEA

October 20

Factory orientation session with BGMEA member factories on EIS Pilot was initiated by BGMEA

October 3 - 5

Three (3) orientation sessions on EIS Pilot with IndustriALL affiliates representing workers were organised by IndustriALL Global with technical assistance from GIZ and ILO. 52 worker representatives (male 36, female 16) participated in the sessions

September 26 - 27

Information sessions sensitising Chattogram suppliers as well as IndustriALL affiliates for the process of EIS Pilot were held 

September 25

Webinar on EIS Pilot was organised jointly by ILO HQ and the European Outdoor Group (EOG). Session speakers included representatives from Oberalp and Mammut 

September 24

8th Sub-Committee meeting held with endorsement of permanent disability cases 

September 16

Webinar on EIS Pilot was jointly organized by ILO HQ and the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA). Representatives from PVH, Primark, NEXT and El Corte Inglés attended the session as speakers 

September 14 - 15

Training on Return to Work (RTW) in collaboration with Bangladesh Business and Disability Network (BBDN) was initiated with second batch of factory representatives 

September 4

The EIS-Pilot was discussed during the session “Beyond compliance: Elevating role of brands in sectoral efforts” of the Asia Regional Partner Forum in Hong Kong organised by the ILO Better Work Programme. Mr El Natour Yosef, Head of Sustainability Programmes in H&M, presented the case of EIS-Pilot from Brands’ perspective. Representatives from more than 50 Brands and Retailers participated in this Forum. The objective of this session was to share how brands can join forces to initiate a pilot that will contribute to the development of a modern social security system in Bangladesh

July 14 - 15

ILO refresher training on the Accident Data Tool for BGMEA factory focal persons was organised

July 10 - 11

Webinars titled ‘Employment Injury Insurance in Bangladesh - the Future of the EIS’ were conducted in German and English by FEMNET and GIZ.  Achievements of the EIS Pilot were reflected upon together with participating and interested brands. Views were exchanged on current developments and challenges of the EIS process. A particular focus was on the transition from the Pilot to a permanent national system and the opportunities for future stakeholder engagement

July 7

7th Sub-Committee meeting held with endorsement of death and permanent disability cases and a dedicated Sub-Committee for Standard Operating Procedures on Commuting Accident held successfully

July 5 - 6

Start of first batch of factories receiving training on Return to Work (RTW) in collaboration with BBDN

May 28

GIZ in collaboration with the Centre for Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (#CRP), held an inception workshop on "Sample Inclusion Criteria and Rehabilitation Cost Analysis Method for Injured Workers from the RMG Sector"

May 13

8th Compensation Governance Board meeting held with the approval of commuting accidents inclusion, 3rd Quarterly Business Oversight and Financial Report, and endorsement of pending death cases for compensation

May 12 - 16

ILO Technical Mission from Geneva was conducted, including tripartite meetings to address the technical issues, operations and the way forward of the EIS Pilot

April 16 - 21

EIS Pilot Governance Board study visit to South Korea for exploring South Korea's EII System

April 2

6th Sub-Committee meeting held with endorsement of death and permanent disability cases

February 29

7th Compensation Governance Board meeting held with the approval of accounting policy, external auditor appointment, quarterly business and financial report, organizing study tour to South Korea, and approval of a pending death case compensation

February 28

BGMEA issued a circular to the member factories informing EIS Pilot and requesting to ensure prompt support by applying through Central Fund for both CF and EIS Pilot benefits

February 23

GIZ and ILO jointly organized a side event on the EIS Pilot during ‘OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector’ in Paris

February 18

BGMEA and BKMEA started orientation on injury data collection tool in selected 102 factories

February 14

Hotline operators from DIFE were oriented on EIS Pilot to collaborate with EIS Pilot Special Unit for inquiries regarding compensation

February 7

Webinar on the EIS Pilot organised by the European Outdoor Group (EOG) for their member brands

February 4

Training of trainers (ToT) on injury data collection tool organized for BGMEA representatives and focal points

February 1

Training of trainers (ToT) on injury data collection tool organized for BKMEA representatives and focal points

January 23

5th Sub-Committee meeting held with endorsement of death and permanent disability cases

December 20

4th Sub-Committee meeting held with endorsement of death and permanent disability cases

December 5

6th Compensation Governance Board meeting held with the approval of the EIS communication brochure, and EIS Website. The board advised printing 8,000 posters, and 30,000 leaflets for distributing at the factory level to raise workers’ awareness

October 17

Roll-out of information sessions sensitizing Bangladeshi suppliers for the processes of the EIS Pilot has started with the first suppliers sessions on 17th of October

October 1

3rd Sub-Committee meeting held with endorsement of death and permanent disability cases

September 14

5th Compensation Governance Board meeting held with discussion on role out of information to all RMG factories. The Board advised designing a poster with necessary information on EIS, to expedite the awareness-raising among workers

August 17

2nd Sub-Committee meeting held with endorsement of death and permanent disability cases

August 3

1st disability assessment conducted based on an agreement between DIFE and the Central Fund

June 13

Agreement in principle on the list of participating factories for the EIS Pilot’s data collection (statistical purpose) and capacity building component

June 4 - 6

Tripartite Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue held for development and agreement with tripartite constituents on a draft communication strategy towards workers and employers regarding the compensation component

June 1

1st Sub-Committee meeting held with endorsement of cases

May 15

Separate Account has been opened under Central Fund for the operationalization of EIS Pilot

May 10

4th Compensation Governance Board meeting held with adoption of EIS Pilot Governance Board Rules for the Management and Operation of the Employment Injury Insurance Scheme in Bangladesh (RMG) as well as the Detailed calculation of the Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) Pilot top-up benefits and approval of sub-committee for timely decisions on endorsement of claims

May 7 - 11

ILO Technical Mission to Bangladesh for tripartite meetings on progress of the EIS Pilot

April 11

3rd Compensation Governance Board meeting held with approval of opening of a separate sub account. This EIS Pilot separate account can be used only and for the sole purpose of financing the documented and approved benefits of the EIS Pilot and documented operating costs including any fees or other payments to external service partners and consultants

March 20

Workshop with Central Fund on the update of ongoing work of the EIS Special Unit and the progress of the EIS Pilot

March 14

Webinar with ICS on March to share information on Pilot among brands and retailers (France)

March 12

MoLE issued a notification on the reformation of the Governance Board with 11 member representatives from the tripartite constituents

March 8

Joint webinar with Ethical Trading Initiative and Fair Wear Foundation to share information on EIS Pilot among brands and retailers

March 6

Webinar organised by the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles to share information on Pilot among brands and retailers (Germany)

March

Roll-out of the accident reporting module of the Labour Information Management Application (LIMA) software of DIFE

January 26

DIFE instructs DIGs of 31 DIFE offices to create awareness on the factory facing module of LIMA

January 1

Establishment and deployment of a Special Unit at the Central Fund with the mandate to conduct activities related to the EIS Pilot

December 4

2nd meeting of the Governance Board on Piloting Employment Injury Insurance Scheme in Bangladesh held

October 20

1st meeting of the Governance Board on Piloting Employment Injury Insurance Scheme in Bangladesh held

October 20

IndustriALL Global Union and the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum co-host a one-hour discussion of the recently launched Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) for ready-made garment workers in Bangladesh

October 16

Appointment of a special advisor on the EIS Pilot to the Central Fund

September

Participating brands representative monitoring group established

September

Process mapping of the Central Fund’s accident reporting and claim management procedure in collaboration with BGMEA and BKMEA finalised

September 1

Considering the recommendations from the tripartite partners, the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) issued an amended gazette of BLR 2015, allowing the establishment of a separate Governance Board for EIS Pilot, and opening a separate account for EIS Pilot

August

Launching of ILO bank account in Geneva for voluntary financial contributions by brands participating in the EIS Pilot

July 17 - 18

Mission of an ILO expert on social protection management information systems to Bangladesh for technical support to the EIS Pilot

July 5

2nd meeting of the Technical Committee on Piloting Employment Injury Insurance Scheme (EIIS) in Bangladesh held

June 21

Official launch of the EIS Pilot by the Government of Bangladesh, including the announcement of 7 international brands pledging voluntary financial contributions to the EIS Pilot

June 9

Workshop with workers organisations at the Workers Resource Centre (WRC) to support the implementation of the EIS Pilot on the side of the workers representation

May 31

Signing of the Geneva Declaration between employer associations (BEF, BGMEA and BKMEA) and the ILO on promoting the EIS Pilot

April 22

The tripartite partners jointly recommend an amendment of the Bangladesh Labour Rules for a separate Governance Board as well as the amendment of the provision that the Governance Board can direct the opening a subaccount at the Central Fund for the EIS Pilot

April 20

Workshop with the Central Fund on its role and responsibilities in the implementation of the EIS Pilot

April

Finalisation of the development of the accident reporting module within the Labour Information Management Application (LIMA) software of DIFE and pre-testing with selected factories

March 11

MoLE notification to authorize the Central Fund to oversee the EIS Pilot

March 10

Endorsement of the Framework for a Sustainable Employment Injury Insurance Scheme in Bangladesh which outlines the design of the EIS Pilot

January 1

Start of the GIZ project Social Protection for Workers in the Textile and Leather Sector

December 19 - 23

Governmental exchange study visit of MoLE to the Social Security Fund (SSF) of Nepal for elaboration on the Management Information Software openIMIS utilised in the SSF for implementing social insurance programmes

December 2 - 4

1st meeting of the Technical Working Group (TWG) held

November 11

Integration of the implementation of the EIS Pilot into the road map of actions concerning outstanding issues regarding ILO Conventions by the Government of Bangladesh

September 14

Based on the recommendation of the Technical Committee, MoLE forms a Technical Working Group (TWG) comprising of representatives of government, employers and workers as well as ILO and GIZ to support the Technical Committee on Piloting Employment Injury Insurance Scheme (EIIS) in Bangladesh"

August 15

Start of the ILO project Implementation of a Pilot of an Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) in Bangladesh

July 6th

1st meeting of the Technical Committee on Piloting Employment Injury Insurance Scheme (EIIS) in Bangladesh held

February 18

Formation of the Technical Committee on Piloting Employment Injury Insurance Scheme (EIIS) in Bangladesh comprising of representatives of employers, workers, government as well as ILO and GIZ by the MoLE

February - November

Training courses conducted by the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO):

• Workshop on Employment Injury Insurance for Civil Society Organizations, February 16 – 18
• Workshop on Employment Injury Insurance for Journalists, February 23 – 25
• Training of Trainers on Employment Injury Insurance, March 7 – 11 (first batch) & June 27 – July 1 (second batch)
• Workshop on Employment Injury Insurance for Government Representatives, June 8 – 10 Workshop on Employment Injury Insurance for Employers, November 3 – 4

June 2020 – March 2021

Development of the Framework for a Sustainable Employment Injury Insurance Scheme in Bangladesh in cooperation with all relevant stakeholders, which outlines the design of the EIS Pilot

January 2020 - February 2021

Extensive discussions with tripartite stakeholders of Bangladesh as well as international brands on the design of the EIS Pilot held

September 2019

Signing of the Berlin Declaration between the Government of Bangladesh, represented by the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE), the German Government, represented by the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) on collaborating to develop the basic components of an EIS