ILO calls for fast-tracking labour law reforms
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has urged Bangladesh to bring about much-needed reforms to the labour law as a matter of priority through further consultations in line with the country's commitment.
The latest request came after the governing body of the UN specialised agency concluded its 350th meeting at its headquarters in Geneva, according to the website of the ILO.
At the session that took place between March 4 and 14, the member states made a series of decisions on living wages and initiatives to strengthen social justice.
In line with the ILO's supervisory procedures, the members examined several country cases, including that of Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bangladesh, noting that these situations should continue to be kept under consideration.
Speaking about Bangladesh, the ILO said its governing body took note of the report on the progress made with the implementation of the roadmap of actions and was mindful of its 2021-26 timeline for the labour sector reform as well as of the results yet to be achieved.
The body noted the strong commitment made by Bangladesh to engage in further tripartite consultations to address the outstanding issues linked to Article 26, which deals with the ILO's complaint lodging procedure concerning alleged non-observance of conventions 81, 87 and 98.
Convention 81 deals with the labour inspection at industrial units, Convention 87 refers to the freedom of association and Convention 98 is related to the collective bargaining rights.
The ILO called on Bangladesh and the social partners to pursue their tripartite consultations in a constructive manner with a view to bringing about all necessary reforms as a matter of priority.
Before the beginning of the session, Bangladesh informed the ILO of the improvement achieved in the implementation of the roadmap, in line with the decision taken at the 349th session in November 2023, providing updates on four priority areas.
The government communicated the process of amending the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 and the Bangladesh Labour Rules. It also cited the reforming of a tripartite standing committee to work on the amendment proposals concerning the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone (EPZ) Labour Act, 2019.
The increase in the number of registered trade unions and active labour inspectors and the continuous recruitment of more inspectors as well as the enhancement of the capacity of the legal unit of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) were mentioned in the report.
The government cited the continued treatment of the complaints received through the DIFE helpline and those obtained through the helpline dedicated to EPZ workers.
The report highlighted the government's plan to establish new labour courts in Mymensingh and Cox's Bazar, deploy one additional judge to the Labour Appellate Tribunal, and the progress made in the development of the standard operating procedure on arbitration.
The governing body urged Bangladesh to report on further progress in the implementation of the roadmap to address all the outstanding issues concerning Article 26 at the 352nd Session, which will be held in November 2024.
Speaking about Myanmar, the ILO said the governing body deplored, once again, the continued absence of progress towards respecting the will of the people, democratic institutions and processes.
It called on the military authorities to end violence, arbitrary arrest, detentions and torture of trade unionists, labour activists and others, including the Rohingya.
The members called for the removal of restrictions on ILO operations in the country and for the full implementation of the recommendations of the ILO's Commission of Inquiry.
In the absence of this, members requested the director-general of the ILO to submit an assessment of further steps to secure compliance with the Commission's recommendations.
The governing body is the ILO's executive body and meets three times a year, in March, June and November.
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