The government has decided to ratify three International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions related to occupational safety and health, its promotional framework, and the elimination of violence and harassment at work.
Among them, Conventions 155 and 187 deal with occupational safety and health (OSH) and the promotional framework for OSH, while Convention 190 establishes the right to a world of work free from violence and harassment.
"After consultation with owners and workers, we have decided to ratify ILO Conventions 155, 187, and 190, with Bangladesh becoming the first South Asian country to ratify Convention 190," said Labour and Employment Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Shakhawat Hussain on Wednesday.
He was speaking at the opening session of a two-day e-conference titled "Tripartite Conference on Effective Social Dialogue as a Lever for Inclusive and Sustainable Labour Reforms in Bangladesh: Benchmarks, Lessons Learned and Way Forward", held at a city hotel.
The government will amend the Bangladesh Labour Act (BLA) within this [October] month, he added, noting that the draft amendments were finalised this week and are expected to be incorporated into the law soon.
"Though it was very difficult to bring all parties to the same table, we finally reached a consensus," he said.
The event was jointly organised by the ILO Dhaka office, Bangladesh Employers' Federation (BEF), Ministry of Labour and Employment, and the National Coordination Committee for Workers' Education (NCCWE), in association with the Embassy of Denmark in Dhaka and the European Union.
The two-day conference aims to share global best practices on social dialogue to help strengthen Bangladesh's labour sector reforms.
Speaking at the event, Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh Christian Brix Møller identified three major challenges to functional social dialogue in Bangladesh: inactive tripartite bodies, the rarity of collective bargaining, and weak or fragmented workers' organisations.
Terming the EU Bangladesh's largest export destination, he said, "Social dialogue is critical for future stability and competitiveness. Our trade relations depend on progress in labour rights and social dialogue. The EU and its member states have supported labour rights and dialogue for many years in Bangladesh."
He cited examples of progress, including the Labour Market Reform Commission 2024 and harmonised industrial relations, but noted that many tripartite bodies remain inactive due to the absence of functional institutions.
Referring to the pending ILO complaint on freedom of association and the expiration of the National Action Plan for the labour sector as urgent concerns, he urged addressing barriers to unionisation in export processing zones and ending reprisals against workers.
Bangladesh Employers' Federation President Fazlee Shamim Ehsan said social dialogue in the country is often hampered by unequal capacities, lack of trust, limited understanding, and argumentative mindsets, which hinder a shift from confrontation to cooperation.
As a way forward, he recommended institutionalising social dialogue at national, sectoral, and enterprise levels; building capacity among workers' and employers' representatives; promoting a cooperative culture; and replicating good practices across sectors.
Labour Secretary Md Sanwar Jahan Bhuiyan, ILO Bangladesh Country Director (designated) Max Tuñon, and NCCWE Chairperson Chowdhury Ashiqul Alam also spoke at the event, while Labour Reform Commission Chief Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmmed presented a keynote paper titled "Social Dialogue in Bangladesh: Where Do We Stand and the Way Forward."
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