Director of the Department of Jute heads the committee, Abdur Rashid Sarker, secretary of the ministry, told The Daily Star yesterday.

A number of experts from the private sector have been included in the committee that has already started its work.

The committee will formulate the policy taking into consideration how the jute products can be made more diversified so that it could be more export oriented.

The secretary said, "We hope to get full account of the workers' dues by tomorrow [today] and after that we'll start paying the workers within a day or two."

The rest 18 state-owned mills will also be brought under reforms measure soon, Abdur Rashid added.

The two mills have already gone under public-private partnership, the secretary said adding that two more mills would also go under such partnership.

Around 8,000 workers and officials of the 14 jute mills will be terminated within this year under golden handshake programme, ministry sources said.

Terminated workers however will be allowed to work on daily basis and the government will arrange training programmes to enhance the workers' skills, sources added.