Covid compensation: Private sector’s miserliness exposed

Families of a number of public hospital physicians and nurses who died of coronavirus infection received compensation from a public fund while families of private such employees who died on duty did not get anything. In Bangladesh, the overall infection rate is hovering around 30-32 per cent, as the nation continues its battle against the ravaging second wave of Delta Covid-19 variants. There is no monitoring and allocation of funds for private-sector employees, such as bankers, who are dying of Covid-19, sources said. A top official of the Finance Division said, “We want families of the diseased frontline Covid-29 fighters to get their entitlements as quickly as possible. We believe private company employees should also receive such compensation if they die on duty.” Prof Nazrul Islam, member of the National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19 told the Business Insider Bangladesh family members of a coronavirus victim goes through trauma and financial crisis. “So they need some compensation packages,” he said, adding the financial aid could be the family’s only hope if the person was the lone earner. The Finance Division provided compensations to 176 families of civil servants comprising police, doctors, nurses, and staff who died of Covid-19 infection until July 30. However, it could not be made clear how many families of employees of private sector hospitals and banks got such packagers if any. The Finance Division officials said most of the private companies and banks had not allocated any funds for their employees who have died of Covid-19 infection. Sources in private sectors said the two major conglomerates in the country did not pay any additional money after the death of some of their employees. One of the conglomerates provided Tk 5 lakh to Tk 10 lakh to Covid-19 victims’ families of other private companies, except their own, an employee said. A total of 135 bankers died of Covid-19 infection until July 30 since the coronavirus reigned in some 19 months ago. Last April, the Bangladesh Bank noticed that the first-class officers--- namely senior officers, probationary officers and management trainee officers, or equivalent rank holders, who died from Covid-19--- got up to Tk 50 lakh in compensation from their respective banks while second class employees who are supposed to receive Tk 25 lakh to Tk 37.50, got nothing. However, some employees’ families of the Mutual Trust Bank received compensation packages as per the central bank directives. Managing director of Dutch-Bangla Bank Abu Kashem Md Shirin told the Business Insider Bangladesh, “We have paid compensation to one of our deceased employees as per Bangladesh Bank rule.” An Official of Islamic Bank of Bangladesh said the authority is now working on a compensation package for 11 of their employees who died in the last 19 months. Meanwhile, a family of a Rapid Action Battalion official of Khulna who succumbed to Covid-19 was yet to be compensated. The official is entitled to Tk 37.50 in reparation. The authorities could not determine who the nominee was. According to the Finance Division, the government has so far disbursed compensation to the families of 176 frontline coronavirus fighters worth Tk 81.50 crore from the Tk 500 crore budget allocation as pronounced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last fiscal year while this 2021-22 fiscal special donation is reduced to Tk 200 crore. On July 15, the last compensation was received by the family of former associate professor Md Nazrul Islam Chowdhury of Chittagong Medical College. Some of the families received Tk 37.50 lakh while some others Tk 50 lakh, respectively, Finance Ministry data shows. Of the total 176 victims, 18 were doctors, 23 nurses, 76 policemen, 35 high officials of different ministries and divisions and 24 were staff, according to the Finance Division.