Workers' occupational health, decent working environment to be ensured: Sakhawat
He made the remark while speaking at a meeting with officials of various embassies in Bangladesh and representatives of the ILO Dhaka office as part of preparations for attending the 355th Governing Body Meeting of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva
Labour and Employment and Shipping Adviser Brigadier General (retd) Dr M Sakhawat Hossain has said that workers' occupational health, decent working environment, and safety will be ensured by further simplifying trade union registration and maintaining opportunities for alternative dispute resolution.
He made the remark while speaking at a meeting with officials of various embassies in Bangladesh and representatives of the ILO Dhaka Office.
The meeting was organised by the Ministry of Labour and Employment at The Westin Dhaka yesterday as part of preparations for attending the 355th Governing Body Meeting of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, according to a handout released today (13 November).
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Speaking as the chief guest, Dr Sakhawat said Bangladesh has already ratified three important ILO conventions — Conventions No. 155 and 187 on occupational safety and health (OSH) of workers, and Convention No. 190 on the prevention of violence and harassment at workplaces.
He said the ratification documents were signed in the presence of the Chief Adviser on 20 October and will be handed over to the Director General (DG) of the ILO very soon.
Terming this achievement a major success of the interim government, the labour adviser said that with the ratification of Conventions 155 and 187, Bangladesh has now become a country that has ratified all ten fundamental conventions of the ILO.
The ratification of Convention 190 will play an important role in preventing violence and harassment at work, especially for women workers, he added.
Dr Sakhawat said work is underway to create the necessary legal and administrative framework to prevent the recurrence of cases against workers and to increase penalties for offences.
The appointment of labour inspectors is being expedited to ensure the implementation of labour laws, he said.
In addition to establishing seven new labour courts, he added, an online case management system is being launched, while digitalisation in the labour sector and the creation of an integrated labour database are also progressing.
The adviser also said that the recently approved Amendment Ordinance to the Labour Act 2006 will soon be published in the gazette, which will help ensure a decent working environment for workers.
Regarding the shipping sector, the adviser announced Bangladesh's candidacy for the position of Category 'C' member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council for the 2026–27 term and sought support from the embassies of different countries.
At the meeting, ambassadors of various countries and ILO representatives thanked the Bangladesh interim government for approving the Amendment Ordinance to the Labour Act 2006 and for ratifying three ILO conventions.
