Defend rights of your domestic workers
Speakers at a seminar yesterday sought help from employers of domestic workers to ensure the rights of the workers and stop violence against them.
Most of the households in urban areas have at least one domestic help each; so, violence against them cannot be stopped until the employers come forward, said Habibur Rahman Shiraz, chairman of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS).
The Domestic Workers' Rights Network (DWRN) organised the seminar in the capital's Jatiya Press Club, marking the anniversary of the Domestic Help Protection and Welfare Policy-2015.
The organisations working under DWRN will organise several programmes in this month including rally, seminar, discussion and distribution of leaflets and posters to households in Dhaka, to raise awareness among the house owners and motivate them to protect the rights of domestic workers.
Speaking as the chief guest, State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu said the government was determined to stop violence against domestic workers, and his ministry would provide financial support to their school-going kids.
MB Akhter, acting country director of Oxfam in Bangladesh, said awareness is needed to ensure the rights of domestic workers, and the awareness has to be turned into a social movement. Joint Secretary of the ministry Aminul Islam and BILS's Joint Secretary General Wajedul Islam Khan also spoke. After the programme, around 200 domestic workers participated in a rally.
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