Govt moves to strengthen labour law enforcement
The government is expediting a series of reforms to strengthen the enforcement of labour laws and improve working conditions across industries, Labour Adviser Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain said today.
He said steps are underway to establish a stronger legal and administrative framework to prevent the repeated filing of cases against workers and to introduce tougher penalties for labour-related offences, according to a press release.
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"Recruitment for labour inspectors is also being fast-tracked to ensure better monitoring of compliance at factories and industrial establishments," he added.
The adviser made the comments while speaking at a meeting in Dhaka on Wednesday with officials from various foreign embassies in Bangladesh and representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Dhaka office.
As part of the ongoing reforms, seven new labour courts are being set up, while an online case management system is being rolled out to speed up dispute resolution and make proceedings more transparent, the adviser said.
"The government is also advancing towards full digitalisation of the labour sector, including the development of an integrated workers' database," he said.
He added that the recently approved amendment ordinance to the Labour Act 2006 will soon be published in the gazette, paving the way for a more decent and rights-based working environment for Bangladesh's labour force.
He also said trade union registration will be further simplified, while ensuring workers' occupational health, decent working conditions, and safety through the introduction of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
Hussain said Bangladesh has already ratified three important ILO conventions. The instruments of ratification were signed on October 20 in the presence of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and will soon be handed over to the ILO Director-General.
He termed this achievement a major milestone for the current interim government, adding that with the ratification of Conventions 155 and 187, Bangladesh has now ratified all 10 fundamental ILO conventions.
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