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A joint program of the Bangladesh Ministry of Commerce and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by GTZ and partners
About PROGRESS Partners Workers | Support to Workers: Increasing their skills and voice |
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Liza’s new life20 year old Liza is divorced. Her home is a village in Kishurganj, where her father is the imam of a mosque. It was him who settled her marriage with the son of a village family. In Dhaka, they shared a room with another family. But her husband and his family demanded dowry which her father could not afford. That is when the torturing and abuse started. Finally, Liza decided to get a divorce and go back to her family. But, as her father had to look after three other children and could not support her, he sent her back to Dhaka for work. A skills training course run by a local NGO and supported by PROGRESS provided Liza with the necessary qualifications to work as a sewing machine operator. Now she earns 3,000 BDT per month and is independent. But, she says, it will still take time to get used to her new life. This is the profile of a garment worker. Liza's story is not unique. Most of the garment workers are young women from poor families, who have migrated to Dhaka and Chittagong to find employment in the garment sector. In the absence of affordable and adequate training institutes, the industry is compelled to provide on-the-job training for new hires, who usually start as helpers and later become operators. PROGRESS seeks possibilities to improve access of the poor and disadvantaged to better-paid sewing machine operator jobs. For this purpose, NGOs are assisted to offer quality training combined with job placement. NGOs are also instrumental in enhancing the know-how of the workers in the field of social compliance. They train workers to better understand social standards and their roles and responsibilities in improving the working environment and employment conditions.
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