President, PM for ensuring safe work environment

President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today called upon all stakeholders including workers and owners for making sincere efforts in ensuring occupational health protection and safe work environment in the country.

They made the call in separate messages on the eve of the 'National Occupational Health and Safety Day-2021'.

The President, in his message, said this year's theme of the day 'Pledge of Mujib Year, Safe Work Environment for All' (Mujib Borsher Ongikar, Nirapad Kormo Poribesh Hok Sobar)' is very time-befitting and appropriate one.

He said after the independence, the greatest Bangalee of all time Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had nationalized all the factories of Bangladesh in the then context.

Bangabandhu's time-befitting and appropriate decision's one of the major reasons was to ensure proper management of factories and professional safety of working class people and their legal rights, he said.

President Hamid said following the principles and ideology of Bangabandhu, the present government is implementing various welfare programmes to ensure the occupational health and safety of working class people of all sectors of the country.

He said the National Occupational Health and Safety Day is being observed at the time when the entire world is considering health safety as a very important thing due to outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

The President urged all concerned to maintain health guidelines to ensure overall health safety of all the citizens including workers and employees.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her message, greeted all working class people of Bangladesh and all over the world on the occasion of the day.

She said her government has amended and updated the Bangladesh Labour Act putting much emphasis on ensuring health safety and proper and safe work environment for workers following the ideology of Bangabandhu.

The premier said Awami League government has formulated "National Occupational Health and Safety Policy 2013" and "Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015".

She said works are underway to build research and training institute on occupational health and safety at the initiative of her government.

The prime minister said from labour welfare foundation, her government is providing financial assistances regularly for the treatment of workers, higher education of their offspring and families of the workers who become victims of accident at workplaces.

She said the Awami League government is working relentlessly to turn Bangladesh into a developed and prosperous country by 2041.

There is no alternative to create awareness among the people at all levels about occupational health and safety to achieve the goal, she added.

She called upon all to make united efforts in building a Sonar Bangladesh as dreamt by the Father of the Nation.

The premier said profession safety and health affairs directory has been formulated for the resistance and remedial of Covid-19 at workplaces.

The President and the Prime Minister wished success of all programmes of the day.