Nepal Parliament passes Social Security Bill

The Nepal Parliament on Monday ratified the much-awaited Social Security Bill, laying the groundwork for implementation of a provision on ‘no work, no pay’ as envisaged by the new Labour Bill.

The Bill, which will soon be signed into law by President Bidya Devi Bhandari, has paved the way for the government to introduce contributory and non-contributory social security schemes. This means citizens who make financial contribution every month and even those who do not make any contribution will be entitled to certain benefits.

People, who do not make any contribution, for instance, can claim for unemployment allowance, and gain access to basic healthcare services and free education till secondary level. The government will also ensure housing and food security for people who do not make any financial contribution.

The contributory social security schemes, on the other hand, are aimed at all those working in formal and informal sectors.  These schemes will entitle one to unemployment, maternity, health, accident, old age and disability benefits. The contributory social security scheme also extends benefits to those who are denied payments by employers.

Article appearing in the Kathmandu Post here.

AFWA released the documentary “Living Wage Now”

Asia Floor Wage Alliance released a video calling for living wages in the garment sector:

Fatal explosion kills at least 13 at Bangladesh garment factory

Multifabs factory is situated on the outskirts of Dhaka

At least 13 people were killed and up to 50 injured after a boiler exploded at a garment factory in Bangladesh on Monday, Aljazeera reported (link). Dozens of labourers were on site at the facility in an industrial district outside the capital, Dhaka, when a blast tore through the six-storey building, causing its walls and a roof to collapse.

InudstriALL released as statement (link):The explosion at the non-unionized Multifabs factory highlights the urgent need to address boiler safety in garment and textile factories in Bangladesh. As a factory covered under the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, Multifabs has been inspected by Accord engineers. It had completed fire separation of the boiler room, and all other fire and structural safety renovations, except for installation of sprinklers. The Accord does not cover boiler inspections, which are monitored by the Bangladesh government.

There is still an enormous amount to be done to improve safety in the Bangaldeshi garment industry. This latest tragedy underlines the need for the work by the Bangladesh Accord to continue, and union signatories to the Accord will demand that it be expanded to include boiler safety as soon as possible.
Since the Rana Plaza tragedy of 2013, when over a thousand garment workers were killed, the Accord has completed fire and building safety inspections at 1,800 garment factories supplying more than 200 signatory brands. Accord engineers have identified over 118,000 fire, electrical and structural hazards at these factories. Today, 79 per cent of workplace dangers discovered in the Accord’s original round of inspections have been remediated.