Garment workers to receive 10kg rice per month at Tk 30 per kilogram

The government has decided to launch a special Open Market Sale (OMS) programme to sell rice at affordable prices to garment workers struggling with high inflation. Under the programme, each garment worker will be able to purchase up to 10kg of rice per month at Tk 30 per kilogram.

According to sources at the Ministry of Food, the special OMS programme will initially run for three months. During this period, each worker employed in the garment industry will be entitled to purchase a maximum of 10kg of rice per month at Tk30 per kilogram.

The ministry initially plans to implement the programme in Dhaka city, other areas of Dhaka district, Gazipur district, Narayanganj district, Chattogram city and other areas of Chattogram district.

When asked about the programme, Nasima Akter, joint secretary at the Ministry of Food, told Prothom Alo on Wednesday that the special OMS programme for garment workers would begin this month. The programme is likely to start on Friday, 20 November.

To implement the special OMS programme, the Ministry of Food yesterday, Wednesday, wrote to the Ministry of Finance seeking additional or special funding for the current 2026–27 financial year. The letter was sent by Md Al Mamun, senior assistant secretary at the Ministry of Food.

The letter to the Ministry of Finance stated that the Ministry of Food regularly sells rice and flour at subsidised prices to stabilise food prices in the domestic market, improve access to food for low-income groups and provide price support in consideration of their purchasing power.

As part of these ongoing efforts, the ministry has decided to launch a special OMS programme to reduce food expenditure among garment workers and ensure that they can purchase rice at affordable prices.

According to the Ministry of Food, rice under the special OMS programme will be sold through 75 open trucks every Friday, the weekly holiday for garment industry workers. Each truck will carry five tonnes of rice, bringing the total quantity available for sale at affordable prices to 375 tonnes.

The letter to the Ministry of Finance also stated that the government currently has sufficient rice stocks. Therefore, the authorities can supply the rice required for the proposed special OMS programme from existing government reserves.

To ensure the proper utilisation of existing government food grain stocks and successfully implement the programme, the Ministry of Food has requested an additional allocation of 4,500 tonnes of rice under the OMS programme.

It has also sought additional or special funding in the current financial year's budget to cover truck operations, transportation and other related expenses.

The government maintains food grain reserves in its own warehouses to support low-income people and regulate the market. It mainly stockpiles rice and wheat.

The government sells part of these food stocks at subsidised prices in the market, while distributing the remainder as relief and assistance. The government's largest programme is the Food-Friendly Programme, under which rice is distributed against designated cards.

Those who do not have cards cannot access this assistance. For people without cards, the main sources of support are OMS outlets and open-truck sales programmes.

The government has decided to launch a special OMS programme for garment workers at a time when industrial areas are experiencing unrest over demands for higher wages.

Meanwhile, the Minimum Wage Board has also begun its work and has already held two meetings. At its meeting on Monday, the workers' representative proposed a minimum monthly wage of Tk 32,000.

When asked about the initiative, Babul Akhter, the workers' representative on the Minimum Wage Board, said the special OMS programme would not be a dignified arrangement for garment workers.

He told Prothom Alo, "After working extremely hard for six days, workers will have to spend hours standing in queues on their weekly holiday just to obtain rice through the OMS programme. This initiative is not an effective solution to save Tk 300. Moreover, it will not be a dignified arrangement for garment workers. Affordable goods must be supplied to workers directly from factory gates. Workers will only gain some relief if the government takes initiatives to provide all essential commodities, not just rice, but also lentils, edible oil, salt, sugar and other necessities, at affordable prices."

According to data from Mapped in Bangladesh, the country has 3,320 garment factories employing 29,87,000 workers. Women account for 57 per cent of the workforce.