Thousands of working mothers in Bangladesh’s garment industry will get a special financial support to afford nutrition for their infants.

The directorate of women affairs of the government signed a memorandum of understanding in this regard with the associations of garment factory owners on Sunday.

Under the programme, 40,000 garment workers in the factories under the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association will receive allowances.

Some 27,500 working and lactating mothers in the factories under the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association will also receive such allowances.

If the monthly gross wages of a working mother remains below Tk 5,000 (US$70) she will be eligible to receive the allowance after the first or second pregnancy or birth of the child. The mother will be eligible to receive the allowance once in her life and for 24 months at the rate of Tk 350 (US$5) a month.

This programme is an extension of the government’s relevant budgetary measure. In the current budget, the government has allocated Tk. 30 crore to be distributed as allowances to lactating working mothers of especially low income working groups in rural and urban areas.

At the function, held at the BGMEA Bhaban in the city and presided over by the BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy, allowance cards were distributed among 50 working mothers.