A high-level team of the International Labour Organization (ILO), visiting Bangladesh to assess the labour rights situation in the country, reportedly questioned the slow growth of registration of trade unions in the readymade garment (RMG) sector, besides enquiring about the current state of workers’ right in forming trade unions.
The five-member delegation, which was in Bangladesh on a three-day visit, reportedly raised the issues at a meeting with the Ministry of Labour and Employment recently.
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“Discussions focused on improvement of safety standards in factories, and workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining rights,” said Senior Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar, adding, “ILO mission wanted to know about a sudden fall in growth of trade union registration. But there are significant improvements as nearly 400 trade unions have been registered over the last three years.”
Led by Minister Counsellor (Labour) at Kenya mission, Geneva Elizabeth Onuko, the five-member ILO delegation that includes Sonia Regenbogen, Marc Leemans, Karen Curtis, and Veronika Vajdova reportedly also met Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, who is said to have appraised the team on how the Government is working to ensure workers’ rights, especially in the apparel sector, and creating a worker-friendly environment in the garment manufacturing factories.
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It may be mentioned here that the ILO was little impressed by the report presented by Bangladesh on the existing labour rights conditions in its last review meeting held in July 2015, following which ILO decided to physically inspect the progress made in institutionalising labour rights, in the light of the infamous Rana Plaza collapse.
After the visit, the five-member team would reportedly submit a report to the ILO, identifying the areas where further progresses are needed.
