Our Story

Following the Rana Plaza disaster, the Amader Kotha Helpline is established as a critical tool for
giving workers an opportunity to report safety and other concerns in the factory workplace. The
Helpline is initially organized as a project of Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.

The Helpline receives permission to use a toll-free number, giving a major boost to the initiative
by providing no-cost access from any location in Bangladesh. 290 substantive calls are received
in one month alone.

The number of garment workers who have access to the Helpline reaches one million. All
workers receive training in small group sessions on how to place a call and what to expect when
filing a complaint. Worker satisfaction rates when calling the Helpline remain high at 82%.

Strong winds from Cyclone Mora affecting coastal regions result in 66 workers from 30 factories
calling to report anxiety over their safety and the safety of their families. Dozens of locked exits
or blocked egress routes are reported and resolved. Together, these and other issues add to the
relevance and importance of Helpline usage.

The Helpline becomes an independent initiative available to any interested brand or factory
across Bangladesh and celebrates the opening of its new Amader Kotha Helpline Center located
in Phulki’s offices, marking a new chapter in the initiative’s history. The Helpline is accessible to
over 1,000 factories and nearly 1.5 million workers. In addition to several brands and retailers,
Nirapon partners with the Helpline to help factories mitigate risk and prevent accidents.

On the assumption that workers may be underreporting highly sensitive issues, academicians
from leading universities, including Columbia University in New York, design and begin roll out
of a research study to examine the impact of reporting sensitive issues as a group rather than as
individuals. In this way, the identity of any one worker is better protected and may result in
greater trust and more extensive reporting of sensitive problems.

Worker concern over the status of their employment and timely payments leads to a dramatic
increase in calls to the Helpline, including a record 5,148 calls in March due to the spike of
COVID-19 related calls from workers. The Helpline begins collaboration with Better Than Cash
Alliance to promote timely digital payment to workers, especially important during the
Pandemic.

Following the distribution of an online questionnaire to solicit feedback on proposed
modifications to the Helpline’s operations, operational protocols are updated and integrated
into daily Helpline work. Updates are related to issue categorization and term definitions,
escalation and remediation pathways and reporting.

As part of a regular review of the quality and effectiveness of the Helpline materials provided to
workers and factory managers, a new logo is developed to improve the visual link between
workers and the ability of the Helpline to solve workplace problems.

New, e-Learning training modules are created to inform factory managers and workers about
how the Helpline works and what to expect when workers call. The e-Learning training modules
complement the Helpline’s existing in-person training materials, reinforcing the knowledge
gained through face-to-face sessions in an easily digestible video format. A new initiative in
Pakistan, Hamary Awaz Helpline, is launched using the Amader Kotha Helpline model.

Building on a decade of experience in Tier 1 ready-made-garment factories in Bangladesh, the
Helpline expands its services to Tier 2 factories, such as fabric mills, printing, washing, dyeing,
and embroidery suppliers. These expanded services allow buyers to meet the increasingly
rigorous regulatory requirements such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence
Directive and others.