1 crore 30 lakh people are at risk of losing their jobs

The Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a non-governmental research organization, said in a dialogue that 13 million people in the country are at risk of losing their jobs due to the ongoing deadly coronavirus. As a result of Cavid-19, citizens employed in temporary or part-time employment are at risk of losing their jobs, the agency said. The CPD said that the estimate was made after reviewing the data of the 2016-17 labor force survey. The CPD also said that given the current situation, the number of people at risk of losing their jobs could increase further.

This information was given in a virtual dialogue titled 'New Challenges of SDGs and Budget 2020-21' organized by Bangladesh, a citizen platform for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

According to the Citizens' Platform for SDG implementation, the country's backward and marginalized people are most at risk as a result of Cavid-19. In the transition from the status quo, the government may consider a special economic recovery program. The Citizens' Platform for SDGs also said that the government should move forward with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework in the process of reviving the country's economy and ensuring economic security, including employment for its citizens. Participating in the discussion, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director. Iftekharuzzaman said, “The opportunity given to launder black money in the proposed budget is not getting much benefit. And the money allocated to the health sector in the proposed budget is insufficient. It should be increased. He also criticized the allocation of Rs 10,000 crore for corona.

CPD Honorary Fellow. Mostafizur Rahman said, 'Implementation of the SDG declared by the United Nations has become difficult due to the impact of coronavirus. This is because the amount of money that needed to be allocated for the implementation of the 16 objectives of the SDGs could not be given. Corona has reduced the rate of revenue collection. The revenue collection rate is still only 10 percent of the total GDP. As a result, it was not possible to give the desired amount in many SDG-related sectors. 

Joining the dialogue as a special guest, a member of the General Economics Department of the Planning Commission (Senior Secretary) said. Shamsul Alam said, “The government will take a short-term action to recover the economy from the ongoing epidemic. All the development activities of the government, including the Eighth Five-Year Plan, will consider the cooperation of all the citizens of the country at risk.

Convener of the SDG Platform and Honorary Fellow of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Dr. Devapriya Bhattacharya presented the main article in the dialogue. He said, “It is important to take a detailed action plan and take steps to recover from the ongoing crisis through periodic monitoring. The SDG framework needs to be specially incorporated in the country's Eighth Five-Year Plan to address the new challenges posed by overcrowding. In this case, it is important to pay special attention to bring the backward and marginalized people of the country under cooperation.

The dialogue discusses various challenges of women, children, elderly people, disabled people, tribals, people from remote areas, youth and backward communities. Development workers-experts, economists, researchers, business representatives, youth representatives and journalists from different parts of the country including Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, Barguna, Sunamganj, Thakurgaon, Bogra participated in the dialogue.