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What the papers say

Health in Garments Work

A weekly round up of articles about employment, the labor market, skills training and workforce development. This week’s round up is drawn from The Daily Star and Migration News. Here is the news for the week ending 7th December, 2017.

This week in the Bangladesh English Press…

…we hear about growing employment opportunities for differently abled people. And an international NGO continues to help garments workers address their health needs. The Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment – with the help of international organizations – discusses issues in international labour migration. The leather-goods industry, tourism industry and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector is making good progress. And the government is keen to attract foreign investment.

Education and the Labour Market

CARE International has recently launched the second phase of HALOW (Health Access and Linkage Opportunities for Workers) . The project helps garment workers to solve their health problems.

A Workshop on “National Strategy and Action Plan on Migration and Development” was held on 23rd November. Academics, senior government officials, representatives from migrants’ organizations and recruiting agencies were present. They emphasized the need for coordinated steps by all concerned stakeholders to ensure safe, orderly, regular, responsible and rights based migration.

Differently abled people work as attendants at Gulshan’s Shawpno super store outlet. The superstore has plans to reserve a 10 percent quota for persons with disabilities by collaborating with NGOs working on the issue.

Two female pilots of Bangladesh Air Force are set to join the United Nations Peacekeeping mission in Congo.

The number of female employees in Bangladesh fell from 5.51 million to 5.07 million last year compared to 2013. This is mainly because of the closure of subcontracting businesses in the garment sector.

Investments, Trade and Growth

After the successful event of Bangladesh Leather Footwear and Leather-goods International Sourcing Show (BLLISS) 2017 in the capital’s International Convention City Bashundhara, Leather-goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB) said they will be organizing international sourcing show every year.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called upon the business community of Cambodia to explore business opportunities in Bangladesh. She spoke about it in the Cambodia-Bangladesh Business Dialogue at the Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra Hotel.

The government sought investment from Saudi entrepreneurs in the power sector to meet the increasing domestic demand.

Financial Services

Data from the central bank suggests that depreciation of taka against American dollars has led to an increase in remittances to Bangladesh. Remittance income rose 27.64 percent year-on-year to $1.21 billion in November.

The value of letters of credit opened in November recorded an all-time high of $16.33 billion riding on huge import orders by Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.

Business News

Eleven water treatment plants will be set up at Bhandaria municipality by the Indian government at a cost of 110 million Taka.

Digital World—an ICT exposition has started on Wednesday. The four-day expo takes place at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. It is expected to bag one billion Taka worth of work orders for this year.

Other News

Speakers spoke about establishing an integrated mass transport system with measures to reduce physical trips. This was discussed at  Bangabandhu Novo Theatre as part of a smart city campaign in the capital on Thursday. United Nations Development Programme and Access to Information programme of the Prime Minister’s Office were the organizers.

A conference of citizens with the theme “Leave No One Behind” took place in the capital on Wednesday at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh. The aim was to raise awareness of issues related to Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.

A five-day “11th Asian International Trade and Tourism Expo 2017” will begin at International Convention City Bashundhara in Dhaka from 12th December. Around 75 stalls from 15 countries will be showcased in the exhibition.

And that’s the news for the week ending 7th December, 2017.