At a glance: On-the-ground registration drives near major RMG industrial zones, closing a civic participation gap specific to migrant factory workers.
The starting problem
Garment workers migrate from rural home districts into industrial zones for work, but frequently remain registered to vote — if at all — in districts they may rarely visit, leaving them with little formal voice over the local decisions shaping their daily lives where they actually live.
What the project does
- On-site registration drives organised near factory clusters, timed around national voter list update periods.
- Documentation assistance for workers struggling to produce proof-of-residence paperwork as recent migrants.
- Coordination with factory management to allow access without disrupting production schedules.
Why it works where generic outreach doesn't
NUK's own field research found that registration outreach delivered by an organisation workers already recognised from compliance or health programming achieved substantially higher engagement than generic civic outreach efforts.
Where it stands now
Following a successful drive in the Savar industrial zone, NUK plans to extend the project to other major RMG zones ahead of upcoming local elections.