Marginalised workers in various informal sectors, especially domestic and home-based garment, tea plantation and fisherfolk, face severe challenges like lack of fair wages, social protection and basic workplace rights.
Domestic workers earn an average of Tk 5,311 monthly, far below their expenses worth TK 10,801, with 96 per cent reporting insufficient wages and 67 per cent facing abuse.
The observation and statistics were shared at a meeting with the Labour Reform Commission held at Shrama Bhaban in the city on Sunday.
Home-based garment workers earn as little as Tk 0.50 per piece, with 71 per cent experiencing gender-based discrimination.
Tea plantation workers earn Tk 170 daily-the lowest globally-leaving 74 per cent below the poverty line with limited access to healthcare and education.
On the other hand, fisherfolk lack minimum wage protections, and only 4.0 per cent of women fisherfolk receive cards.
Mehzabin Ahmed, Head of Gender Justice and Social Inclusion at Oxfam in Bangladesh, presented these insights and recommendations at the meeting. Representatives from the government, Oxfam, NGOs, development partners, media, and civil society organisations were present.
The objective of the meeting was to discuss strategies to protect informal sector workers and improve their working conditions while aligning Bangladesh's labour policies with international standards.
Bangladesh's informal sector that employs more than 85 per cent of the country's labour force (96.6 per cent of whom are women) remains largely excluded from formal labour laws, leaving millions vulnerable to unsafe conditions, exploitation, and economic insecurity.
To address these challenges, speakers emphasised the need for Bangladesh to ratify key international conventions, including ILO Conventions C189, C190, and C188, to extend legal protections to informal workers.
Other recommendations included setting minimum wage standards, ensuring access to social safety nets such as health insurance and pension schemes, and strengthening enforcement mechanisms for workplace safety and rights monitoring.
Speaking at the meeting, Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, Head of the Labour Reform Commission, emphasised: "Protecting informal workers is not just an economic issue, it is a matter of justice. Recognising their contributions ensures dignity for all."
Salma Akter, a representative from the domestic workers community, said, "We can't live a good life as we don't get even a minimum salary to manage daily expenses and recognition."
She recommended inclusion of domestic workers in the law, saying that as they are not included in the labour law, they are out of all forms of formal support.
Presenting the paper, Ms Ahmed stressed that the invisible hands driving the economy deserve to be seen, valued, and protected. Labour reforms must address the unique vulnerabilities of marginalised workers, she noted.
Several key actions were also recommended at the meeting. These included enhancing the representation of these workers in policy-making processes, expanding skills development programmes tailored to informal workers' needs and gender-responsive policies prioritising to eliminate discrimination against women workers and promote equality in the workforce.
An analysis and recommendation paper titled "Empowering Invisible Hands: Recommendations for Labour Reforms to Protect Informal and Marginalised Workers in Bangladesh" has also been handed over to the Labour Reform Commission.
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