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Globally, a myriad of floating workers is in grave jeopardy due to the ceasing of employment opportunities that resulted from the mobility restriction during the Covid-19. Despite the global concern, developing countries have been suffering disproportionately due to the dominance of informal workers in their labour market, posing the necessity to campaign for the immediate protection of this vulnerable population. This paper analyses various dimensions of the vulnerability of urban floating workers in the context of Covid-19 in Bangladesh. In reference to International Labour Organization's (ILO) “Decent Work” concept, this paper endeavours to examine floating workers' vulnerability using the insider-outsider framework in context to Covid-19 pandemic.

The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, data were collected before the pandemic to assess the vulnerability of the informal floating workers. Later, we extended the study to the second phase during the Covid-19 pandemic to understand how pandemic affects the lives and livelihood of floating workers. In phase one, data were collected from a sample of 342 floating workers and analysed based on job security, wages, working environment, psychological wellbeing and education to understand the vulnerability of floating workers. In phase two, 20 in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted, followed by thematic analysis to explore how the pandemic affects the existing vulnerability of floating workers.

Various social protection schemes were analysed to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing the vulnerability of floating workers facing socio-economic crises. The study has found that the pandemic has multiplied the existing vulnerability of the floating workers on many fronts that include job losses, food crisis, shelter insecurity, education, social, physical and mental wellbeing. In response to the pandemic, the Government stimulus packages and Non-government Covid-19 initiatives lack the appropriate system, magnitude, and focus on protecting the floating workers in Bangladesh.

This paper outlines various short-term interventions and long-term policy prescriptions to safeguard floating workers' lives and livelihood from the ongoing Corona pandemic and unforeseen uncertainties.

This paper is the first of its kind that aims at understanding the vulnerability of this significant workforce in Bangladesh, taking the whole picture of Government and Non-government initiatives during Covid-19.

Many research findings demonstrate the benefits of lean manufacturing implementation. However, the impact of lean manufacturing on organizational performance in developing countries like Bangladesh remains unexplored. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of lean manufacturing system (LMS) on the organizational performance of the apparel industry in Bangladesh.

Empirical data were collected from 227 apparel manufacturing firms using a close-ended structured questionnaire. The causal relationships between the independent and dependent variables are examined by structural equation modeling using AMOS 20.0 software.

The results reveal significant evidence that the implementation of LMS has a direct impact on organizational performance in terms of operational and business performance.

The findings of this study will create a substantial interest among the practitioners of the apparel industry to implement LMS. This study will also explore the opportunities to develop lean implementation framework and identify the benefits that will enhance the competitive advantages.

This paper explores the causal relationships and argues based on the empirical data in the context of the apparel industry in Bangladesh.