Upgrade min wage every 3 years, register workers with IDs: Labour Reform Commission
The commission also recommended providing all women workers with six months of fully paid maternity leave
Highlights:
- Recommended job security for all workers
- All workers should receive legal protection and formal identity registration
- Six months of fully paid maternity leave recommended for women workers
- Death compensation should reflect a worker's life cycle, says commission chief
- Reforms include gender-sensitive language and discouraging informal workplace pronouns
- Permanent labour commission, contingency fund, and safer work environments among 25 key proposals
The Labour Reform Commission has recommended introducing a national minimum wage for all workers, with a provision to revise it every three years.
Submitting its report to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus today (21 April), the commission also urged the government to begin registering all workers and issuing them identity cards to formalise their status.
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It recommended comprehensive legal protection for all workers in the country.
The commission also recommended providing all women workers with six months of fully paid maternity leave, said a press release.
It suggested officially recognising all workers who lost their lives during the July movement as "martyrs."
Commission Chief Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, executive director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), stated that Bangladesh currently offers one of the lowest death compensation rates for workers.
"We have proposed setting the compensation amount based on a worker's life cycle," he said at a press briefing after submitting the report.
He stated that the reform commission has prioritised 25 key recommendations, taking into account the broader context of labor issues in the country.
The commission chief said they have proposed measures to ensure job security and workplace safety for all workers.
Among the most significant are the introduction of dignified national and sector-specific wages, easing trade union regulations to safeguard workers' freedom of expression, promoting structured industrial relations and social dialogue, ensuring a safe working environment and occupational health, and enhancing the transparency, accountability, and accessibility of labour-related government institutions.
The commission also recommended the formation of a contingency fund for worker welfare.
Additionally, the commission called for necessary amendments to the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006, in line with these recommendations, aiming to submit an updated report to the International Labour Organization (ILO) by 2026.
It also proposed the establishment of a permanent labour commission, recognising the critical role of the labour sector in national development.
To promote a fair and inclusive work environment, the commission has proposed several key reforms including replacing gendered terminology in labour laws with more appropriate alternatives and discouraging the use of informal pronouns like "you (tumi/tui)" in the workplace.
On 17 November 2024, the interim government formed the 10-member Labour Reform Commission with Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed as its chief.
