International Labour Organization (ILO)

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to

advance social and economic justice through setting international labour standards. It was
founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations and it is the first and oldest specialised
agency of the UN. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with around 40 field offices
around the world, and employs some 2,700 staff from over 150 nations, of whom 900 work in
technical cooperation programmes and projects. The only tripartite U.N. agency, since 1919
the ILO brings together governments, employers and workers of 187 member States , to set
labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all
women and men. The main aims of the ILO are to promote rights at work, encourage decent
employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work-related
issues.

ILO in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has been an active member state of the ILO since 22 June 1972 and has ratified
35 ILO Conventions including seven fundamental conventions. The ILO opened its office in
Dhaka, Bangladesh on 25 June 1973, and initially started working on expanding income-
earning opportunities through labour-based infrastructure development and maintenance.
More recent technical cooperation activities have focused on enhancing working conditions
and labour rights with considerable emphasis being placed on the ready-made garment sector.
Major initiatives are also taking place in the areas of skills development and increasing
employability of young and adult women and men. In addition, the ILO strives to enhance
social protection and decent employment conditions for Bangladeshi migrant workers. Effort
is made to eliminate child labour, promote the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples and
establish basic social protection benefits. ILO's tripartite nature sees it working closely with
the Government of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF), The National
Coordination Committee for Workers’ Education (NCCWE) and the Industrial Bangladesh
Council (IBC). ILO also cooperates with many other key actors in civil society, academic and
research institutions, private sector and the media. As part of the UN system in Bangladesh,
the ILO supports the Government of Bangladesh in implementing its Five Year Plan and in
achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8 to promote
sustained and inclusive economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work
for all.

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 Areas of work

The ILO collaborates with its partners in Bangladesh to promote compliance with
international labour standards by helping address shortcomings in legislation and by
providing policy advice. Initiatives are also carried out by ILO in four priority main areas as
follows:
Working conditions: The ILO is working to improve structural and fire safety in the Ready-
Made Garment sector. It also helps build capacity of national regulatory bodies to carry out
their mandates in a more effective and accountable manner. In addition, the ILO works to
enhance Occupational Safety and Health in key export industries.
Rights at work: The ILO works with both workers and employers organisations to promote
better compliance with international labour standards, particularly freedom of association and
collective bargaining.
Skills: The ILO works to improve the national enabling environment for industry skills
development and the increased employability of young and adult women and men.
Social protection: The ILO works to ensure protection and decent employment conditions for
Bangladeshi migrant workers. ILO also works to eliminate child labour, promote the rights of
indigenous and tribal peoples and establish basic social protection benefits. As part of the UN
system in Bangladesh, the ILO supports the Government of Bangladesh in implementing its
Five Year Plans and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially
Goal Eight on Decent Work and Economic Growth.

Child Labour in Bangladesh

With support from various donors, ILO has been working to eliminate child labour in
Bangladesh since 1994 through its International Programme on the Elimination of Child
Labour (IPEC). In addition to government counterparts, IPEC has worked with employers
and workers organizations, research organizations and academics, civil society actors as well
as a wide range of NGOs to implement various projects and activities. About 75,000 child
labourers have directly benefited from these interventions. As a result of continuous
advocacy, the Government of Bangladesh ratified the ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of
Child Labour, 1999 on 12 March 2001. National legislation on hazardous child labour was
subsequently revised in 2006 and a list of hazardous forms of child labour was adopted in
2013. The Domestic Worker’s Protection and Welfare Policy, 2015 has set a minimum age
for child domestic workers paving the way to address the issues of thousands of child

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domestic workers in the country. Since 1995, nation-wide sample surveys, baseline surveys
and research studies have been conducted which form the basis of various policy and field-
level interventions to combat child labour. Establishment of a ‘Women and Children’ labour
unit in the Ministry of Labour and Employment through a revised organogram in 2015 was
the outcome of an IPEC intervention that initiated the unit in the Ministry.

Equality and discrimination in Bangladesh

The rapid growth of the Bangladesh ready-made garment industries, which employ
approximately 4.2 million workers, has created considerable employment opportunities for
women in Bangladesh. Some estimates put the number of women workers in the sector as
high as 80 per cent. Large numbers of women (approximately 56,000 in 2013) migrate
overseas for domestic work where they can find themselves vulnerable to exploitation while
the trafficking of women from Bangladesh remains an issue. Bangladesh is also home to
around 3 million indigenous and tribal peoples (ITPs) from more than 50 ethnic backgrounds.
They belong to the most disadvantaged sections of Bangladeshi society and face multiple
challenges including economic, cultural, social and political marginalization. ILO is working
in with a variety of partners including government ministries, workers and employers
organisations as well as social partners to promote gender equality, eliminate discrimination
and counter exploitation in the world of work. Activities include mainstreaming gender in the
Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP); promoting women’s participation and gender
equality in the trade union movement; promoting and protecting rights of female and male
migrant workers; access by women and young people to skills training; and promoting the
rights of indigenous peoples in Bangladesh through capacity building and advocacy. 

Freedom of association and the rights to collective bargaining in Bangladesh

The ILO is supporting efforts in Bangladesh to adopt and enforce labour law and policies
which are in compliance with international labour standards. Specific challenges faced by
workers’ and employers’ organizations are being addressed by building local capacity in
relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Efforts are being made to ensure
workers and employers have better knowledge and understanding of labour rights and
responsibilities, both in law and in practice through a wide range of capacity building and
outreach activities. Actions are mainly focused on the export-orientated sectors namely

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ready-made garments, shrimp processing, shoes and leather. Government structures with a
labour relations and compliance role are also being strengthened.
Informal economy in Bangladesh
The informal economy in South Asia is estimated to stand at 80 to 90 per cent of the labour
force. The huge scale of vulnerable employment presents a challenge to stable and
sustainable development as the workforce in this sector usually engages in activities which
are unregulated, unrecognized and “low productive” in nature. In Bangladesh, 87 per cent of
the labour force is employed in the informal economy according to the 2010 Labour Force
Survey. Those working in the informal economy include wage labourers, self-employed
persons, unpaid family labour, piece-rate workers, and other hired labour. The sixth Five
Year Plan (SFYP) of Bangladesh (2011-2015) recognizes the vulnerability of workers in the
informal economy and states “This calls for changing the structure of employment by
withdrawing labour from low productivity agriculture and informal jobs (also known as
disguised unemployment) to higher productivity jobs in the manufacturing and formal
services” (SFYP document, March 2011, p. 46). The ILO is seeking to contribute to
employment policies that facilitate formalisation of the informal economy, reduction of
informality in the formal sector and promote workers’ rights in the subregion comprising
Bangladesh, India and Nepal. It also seeks to emphasize knowledge management so as to fill
the large knowledge gap in policy-making and to embrace the proven ILO strategy of
participatory dialogue.

International labour standards in Bangladesh

The ILO works with its partners in Bangladesh to promote compliance with international
labour standards by helping address shortcomings in legislation and by providing policy
advice.
ILO Conventions: Bangladesh has been an important and active member State of the ILO
since 22 June 1972. To date, Bangladesh has ratified 33 ILO Conventions   including seven
fundamental Conventions as enshrined in the ILO Declaration. The ILO Office works in
close collaboration with its tripartite constituents and social partners towards achieving
Bangladesh’s decent work objectives.
Bangladesh Labour Act (2013): The Bangladesh Government has made amendments to the
2006 Labour Act to make it more in line with International Labour Standards. The
government approved the new labour law in 2013 including 87 sections of amendments to
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boost workers' rights, including better access to freedom of association (i.e., to form trade
unions), and improving occupational health and safety conditions. The ILO has provided
detailed feedback on further amendments required to make the law fully compliant to
international labour standards. The Government of Bangladesh has expressed that it is a
continuous process and necessary steps will be taken for further amendment of the
Bangladesh Labour Act in due course, in consultation with tripartite partners considering the
socio-economic conditions of the country, and with the ILO’s assistance.
Bangladesh Labour Act Implementing Rules: On 16 September 2015 the Government of
Bangladesh issued the implementation rules of the Bangladesh Labour Act. The ILO
provided comments on the draft rules to the Ministry of Labour and Employment and actively
encouraged that the rules were in line with international labour standards.
Laws on export processing zones (EPZs): The Government of Bangladesh is in the process
of drafting a new law relating to EPZs, entitled the “Bangladesh EPZ Labour Act 2013”. The
ILO is providing feedback on the draft law and encouraging that the law is in compliance
with international labour standards especially the ILO Conventions Freedom of Association
and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87)  and Right to Organise
and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) . 
National Labour Policy (2012): The ILO provided technical expertise and support to the
development of the National Labour Policy (2012). National Occupational Safety and Health
(OSH) Policy (2013): The ILO provided financial and technical support to the development
of a National OSH Policy. As part of the process the ILO worked closely with government,
employers and workers representatives as well as civil society.
National Skills Development Policy (2011): The development of a national policy for
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and skills development was a
major outcome of the ILO implemented, European Commission-funded TVET Reform
Project. Key activities within the project included development of a national policy and a
reform proposal for relevant laws and regulations and a proposal for improvements in tasks
and mechanisms.
Migration: The ILO has worked to improve legal and policy frameworks, systems and
services relating to labour migration. Support has been provided to the formulation of the
Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013 and the revised Overseas Employment Policy
(2013). Advocacy has also taken place with regards to ratification by Bangladesh of the
Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181).

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 Safety and Health at Work in Bangladesh
It is estimated that over 11,000 workers suffer fatal accidents and a further 24,500 die from
work related diseases across all sectors each year in Bangladesh. It is also estimated that a
further 8 million workers suffer injuries at work – many of which result in permanent
disability.. The ILO is working in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Employment ,
Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF), National Coordination Committee for Workers
Education (NCCWE), Industriall Bangladesh Council (IBC) and social partners such as the
Occupational Safety and Health and Environment (OSHE) Foundation and the Bangladesh
Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), work to foster a preventative safety and health culture by
strengthening national occupational safety and health (OSH) systems. This includes support
in the following areas:

 Updating the National OSH Profile and developing a National Plan of Action on OSH
 Working with employers organisations to cascade basic OSH training to 750,000 –
800,000 workers in 400 RMG factories
 Providing OSH capacity building to master trainers from NCCWE and IBC who will
pass on these skills to some 3,000 workers
 Developing an OSH KIT for initiating and functioning Safety Committees at factory
level
 Preparing advocacy and outreach campaign on OSH to help foster a culture of OSH in
the country
 Supporting the establishment of OSH committees in Better Work factories

Skills and Employability in Bangladesh

As with many other developing countries, it is a challenge for Bangladesh to develop the
skills of young people. A better skilled workforce would enable Bangladesh to take
advantage of new economic opportunities and boost the employment options for the
country’s growing workforce. The ILO initiatives in Bangladesh aim to improve the national
enabling environment for industry skills development, address the mismatch between the
supply and demand for skills training and drive increased employability of young and adult
women and men. The ILO supports the efforts of the government and the social partners to
reform the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system, thereby
improving access for people to increase their skills and employability, in particular youth,

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women and people from vulnerable groups. Technical support is also provided for the
implementation of the National Skills Development Policy adopted in 2011, which ILO
supported the development of.

ILO’s Work on Social Protection in Bangladesh

The ILO in Bangladesh is implementing the following social protection interventions under
the Decent Work Country Programme  (2017-2020):

1. Employment injury insurance (EII). In cooperation with the Government of

Bangladesh, workers’ and employers’ organizations and GIZ, a pilot EII project has been
designed for the Ready-Made Garments (RMG) industry.   The pilot is based on lessons
learned from ILO’s earlier support to Rana Plaza Claims Arrangement for over 5,100
survivors of the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013.
2. Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). The ILO supported the establishment of
the Bangladesh Business and Disability Network (BBDN) in 2016, which advocates for
and bridges business entities with PWDs seeking employment. As a member of
the Innovation to Inclusion (i2i) Consortium, the ILO is developing, testing and
validating effective ways to engage and retain persons with disabilities in paid
employment in the private sector in Bangladesh.
3. Wage subsidy. The ILO has designed an intervention to provide one-time wage
subsidy payments to approximately 40,000 women and disabled RMG workers impacted
by COVID-19. This subsidy will complement ongoing stimulus efforts by the
Government of Bangladesh and development partners.
4. Unemployment insurance. Under an ILO-UNIQLO public private partnership, a
policy and legislative analysis will be conducted for the establishment of an
Unemployment Insurance Scheme for formal economy workers in Bangladesh. This is a
regional initiative, aimed at strengthening support mechanisms for unemployed workers
through effective employment insurance system, expansion of re-skilling training and
improvement in public employment services.
5. UN coordination:  In response to the socio-economic upheaval posed by COVID-19,
the UN Country Team is supporting the Government of Bangladesh in developing a
Social Economic Recovery Framework (SERF); the ILO & UNICEF are co-leading the

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 “social protection and basic services” activities under this framework. The SERF is a
transitional document which will guide the work of the UN in Bangladesh, in
collaboration with the government and key stakeholders, from July 2020 onwards for a
period of 18 months.
6. UN SDG Joint Programme for tea gardens: The ILO leads the UN SDG Joint
Programme for tea gardens in collaboration with UNFPA, UNICEF and UN Women
which seeks to enhance access to better coordinated and inclusive social protection and
social services for female tea garden workers and their families in Sylhet Division. The
programme also seeks to create a more empowering and non-discriminatory environment
contributing to decent work for the tea garden workers.

Workers' Organizations in Bangladesh

The ILO with guidance and support from its Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV),
works closely with workers’ organizations in Bangladesh to reach its goal of providing
Decent Work for all. At the national level, collaboration takes place with the National
Coordination Committee on Workers Education (NCCWE). This approach takes into account
the relative presence, strengths and needs of unions at the various levels. The National
Coordination Committee for Workers’ Education is a united platform of 13 major national
trade union federations in Bangladesh. ILO is providing technical assistance for trade union
organizations to improve the capacity of workers to organize through a workers education
programme organised in collaboration with the NCCWE and the IBC under coordination with
IndustriAll and ACTRAV. The programme aims at creating an enabling environment for
worker organization and collective bargaining at factory level that would lead to workers
participating in occupational health and safety as well as participation committees.
Recognising that the majority of garment workers are women, special emphasis is being
placed on training women trade union leaders and organizers on key labour rights. Efforts are
also being made to provide unions with the skills to establish collective bargaining
agreements for the improvement of working conditions in the RMG sector.
Decent work in Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) was developed in close
collaboration with ILO’s tripartite constituents: the Government, Bangladesh Employers’
Federation and National Coordination Committee for Workers Education. This DWCP is
results oriented, focused and well-coordinated with national policy documents and global

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development initiatives such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is being
implemented for the period 2017-20 focusing on four key priorities and outcomes which will
contribute to helping reach the goals and ‘core targets’ of the 7th Five Year Plan (FYP).
Priority 1: Effective employment policies to enhance employability through skill
development including for green growth
Priority 2: Promotion of safe and clean working environment for all workers and in
compliance with core international labour standards
Priority 3: Promotion of fundamental principles and rights at work through social dialogue
and tripartism.
Priority 4: Promotion of social protection for all workers and vulnerable groups including
against climate change

Outcomes 1 - Employment and skills

1.1   Bangladesh jobs strategy formulated for skills development and job creation with higher
productivity and in green industries especially for young men and women.
1.2  Accessibility of TVET system enhanced in alignment with the National Skills
Development Policy (NSDP) especially for women, disadvantaged groups, people with
disabilities and ethnic groups and in view of introducing skills in emerging technologies
relating to climate resilient green growth.
Outcomes 2 - Compliance
2.1  International labour standards (ILS) especially the eight core conventions are promoted
and constituents’ capacity enhanced for their better implementation.
2.2   Implementation of policies, laws and programmes promoted to ensure occupational
safety to improve working conditions and ensure a just transition to a climate resilient and
green economy through the application of ILO guidelines for a just transition towards
environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all.  
Outcomes 3 - Social dialogue
3.1  Employers’ and Workers’ organizations’ capacity developed to strengthen freedom of
association, collective bargaining and sound industrial relations.
3.2  Capacity of labour administration enhanced leading to good governance in the labour
market.
Outcomes 4 - Social protection
4.1 Employment injury social protection schemes for select sectors developed and
implemented.

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4.2  Laws and policies for protection of migrant workers, domestic workers, child labourers
and indigenous workers developed and implemented.
The implementation of the DWCP will be based on ‘partnership’ among the tripartite
constituents and the ILO Country Office. Current Technical Coordination (TC) projects of
ILO as well as some new ones which will be mobilized during the span of the DWCP will
play critical roles in achieving the outcomes of the DWCP.

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