The proposed national budget for fiscal 2020-21 has not addressed the issues of people who remain unemployed after losing their jobs and incomes at home and abroad during the ongoing pandemic, according to the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS).

Besides, the budget's corresponding social safety net measures and allocations are inadequate, it said.

Every sector witnessed job losses due to the Covid-19 fallout and the budget should have kept a separate fund for such people, BILS officials said yesterday.

There were 40 lakh domestic workers in Bangladesh prior to the pandemic and some 90 per cent of them lost their jobs in the aftermath, said Naimul Ahsan Jewel, a member of the advisory council of the BILS.

The 25 lakh or so people employed by hotels and restaurants lost their jobs for the establishments having to stay shut abiding by health safety protocols, he told a virtual discussion organised by the BILS on the budget and financially insolvent people.

Some 50 per cent of the 40 lakh workers employed at shopping malls and grocery shops across the country have lost their jobs and are unemployed now, he added.

Some 30 lakh employees of the book binding industry have lost their jobs and most of the 25 lakh transport workers are unemployed now because of the bar on public and goods transport, he said.

The grim scenario also prevails in the fishing sector. It used to directly employ some 10 lakh people across the country and most of them are now unemployed, said Jewel.

The sector, including its whole supply chain, had enabled employment of nearly 2 crore people and most of them are now passing a very tough time after losing their jobs and incomes, he added.

In the garment sector, some 35 lakh workers were employed but now the number has declined to 25 lakh due to job cuts.

Sharing his experience during a visit to Cox's Bazar last week, Jewel said some 10 per cent of the 3.5 lakh workers, including 10,000 female workers, employed in hotels, restaurants and tourism have lost their jobs.

He did not stop here. Citing different estimates, Jewel also said that although the government allocated Tk 2,500 crore as food assistance for the financially insolvent, unemployed people, only Tk 1,068 crore has been disbursed so far.

Some Tk 815 crore was additionally allocated in the social safety net programmes, from which only Tk 23 crore was disbursed while of the Tk 2,130 crore allocated for homeless people, Tk 1,474 crore could be given out so far.

Only Tk 262 crore was disbursed from a Tk 1,200 crore fund allocated for the elderly who were financially insolvent and widows while some Tk 880 crore was disbursed from the Tk 1,258 crore allocated for a package to provide Tk 2,500 to each victim of Covid-19.

Only Tk 5 crore was disbursed from a fund of Tk 1,500 crore meant for unemployed workers and Tk 770 crore remains unutilised although the government allocated the fund for providing rice at Tk 10 per kilogramme to the financially insolvent, Jewel said.

Moreover, it was apparent that the government allocations for the financially insolvent and unemployed had not been properly disbursed among the deserving to enable the economy's growth.

Besides, the government should allow battery-run three-wheelers to retain the incomes they generate, he added.

The Daily Star could not independently verify Jewel's claims.

However, it is common knowledge that a good number of people are passing days in hardship after having lost their jobs and incomes due to Covid-19.

The budget is not for any particular segment of society, said Nazrul Islam Khan, executive director of the BILS.

The government's claim that the budget is business friendly is untrue as it will not benefit cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSME).

"In fact, it is a budget for some big conglomerates," he added.

Citing data from the International Finance Corporation, Khan said that some 2 crore people were involved in CMSME enterprises but around 37 per cent of them have lost their jobs.

The government did not address the issues of these people in the budget even though these entities account for more than 20 per cent of the country's GDP.

Some 2.5 crore people have now fallen under the new poor category after losing their incomes but their plights have not been addressed in the budget.

Some 6 lakh to 7 lakh migrant workers returned home empty hand during the pandemic but their issues were similarly not addressed, Khan added.

He also said some 25 lakh people aspire for jobs every year while hardly 6 lakh to 7 lakh of them secure employment.

During the pandemic, employment did not come about, rather thousands lost their jobs. Considering the scenario, the government should increase the age limit for entering public services from the existing 30 years.

A database of a global standard of people could make government tasks easier and bring a lot of benefit to people of the country, Khan said.