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- When advanced through social dialogue and coordination among social partners, the ongoing labour reforms will support harmonious, stable industrial relations, well positioning Bangladesh to leverage emerging trade and investment opportunities in the post-LDC era.
Amidst a major socio-political transition, Bangladesh marks the International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day or Labour Day. This is typically a day to celebrate work, and appreciate the social contract that guides, governs, and ensures rights and responsibilities at work – rights for dignified, respectful, just employment in good working conditions.
This year’s global Labour Day theme, “Empowering Workers for Sustainable Development,” reinforces a critical truth: empowering workers is as much a social obligation as it is an economic imperative. As Bangladesh works to modernize its economy and prepares for graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, the sustainability of its development will depend on the extent to which all workers, men and women, are enabled to contribute meaningfully to national growth, and industries’ sustainability and competitiveness. At the heart of this, is ensuring that the fundamental principles and rights at work are fully recognised and upheld, ensuring that all Bangladeshis have equal and inclusive access to skills and decent work.
The national Labour Day theme, “Let’s build a new Bangladesh; employers’-workers’ unity will be its strength”, highlights the importance of social dialogue in fostering unity and addressing the evolving challenges and opportunities in the world of work. In Bangladesh, Labour Day will focus on progress towards safe work for all.
The right to a safe and healthy working environment is one of the fundamental principles and rights at work that the ILO recognises as essential for decent work and sustainable development. Others are freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; elimination of forced and child labour; and prohibition of discrimination in employment and occupation. The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, adopted in 1998 and amended in 2022, obliges all member states to respect and promote these rights.
The establishment of the Bangladesh Labour Reform Commission in November 2024 and the subsequent publication of its recommendations in April 2025, is a promising milestone for broad national consensus on how creating decent, productive, and remunerative jobs can carry Bangladesh reforms forward.
With representation from employers and workers and others, the Commission has made important recommendations for promoting decent work. These incorporate establishment of minimum wages, broadening recognition and protection of all workers, including domestic workers, better labour market access and governance for women, youth and migrant workers, and establishing a national social protection scheme.
These recommendations fully align with Bangladesh’s commitments to labour reforms that aim to align with international labour standards, that modernize the national wage setting system and strengthen labour courts, inspection, and dispute resolution. When advanced through social dialogue and coordination among social partners, the reforms will support harmonious, stable industrial relations, well positioning Bangladesh to leverage emerging trade and investment opportunities in the post-LDC era. Critically, these reforms can also extend decent work standards into Bangladesh’s vast informal economy, which could power economic growth if integrated into global supply chains and supported through inclusive labour market governance.
Noteworthy progress in worker rights and welfare has been accomplished in the export-oriented readymade garment sector—underpinned by international buyer engagement. In the informal sector where more than 84% of the Bangladeshi labour force works, awareness of rights and compliance with labour laws remains limited. Workers and employers alike often lack access to information and support to uphold worker protections.
Bangladesh must invest in awareness, education, and capacity-building—at scale and across sectors. On one hand, workers must understand their rights and be able to exercise them without fear, while employers’ capacity to comply with laws and adopt fair, safe, and productive workplace practices must be augmented. On the other hand, workers must be trained and skilled to meet employer requirements presently, and in future as the world of work. Private sector-led skills development would support workers to successfully transition from the informal to the formal economy, both nationally, and internationally for migrant workers.
This is crucial for Bangladesh’s youthful population on the fringes of the job market. It will require employers to develop innovative partnerships and initiatives for skills development. Through partnerships, employers and government can co-create learning modules with technical and vocational education training institutions that, for example, allow for workplace-based learning to give students a feel of the real world of work and its requirements. This is essential for sustaining businesses, big and small, increasing labour productivity, and protecting Bangladesh’s global reputation and attracting responsible investments.
The ILO reaffirms its commitment to support implementation of fundamental principles and rights at work, to empower both workers and employers to unlock more decent work opportunities and to enhance labour productivity for sustainable businesses as a pathway to social justice. The ILO will continue to support reforms to skills development and labour market governance in line with the country’s economic and employment aspirations. At this critical moment of reforms, it is urgent that we step up collaboration to achieve decent work for all.
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