Don’t use labour weakness as a tool to achieve political gains : FM to ILO

Staff Reporter :
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has urged the International Labour Organisation (ILO) not to use labour weakness as a tool to achieve political gains, rather assist Bangladesh to overcome those weaknesses.
“Please don’t use labor weakness, if there be any, as a tool to achieve political gains, rather try to help and assist to overcome those weaknesses with generous support and financing,” he said on Wednesday.
While addressing as the Chief Guest, Dr Momen said this in a national seminar on “Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work: Bangladesh’s 50-years Journey with the ILO held at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital.
Expressing the government’s willingness, he said, “Our government remains willing to facilitate appropriate course-corrections in the labor and employment sectors in response to our socio-economic context at any given time.”
“We would expect our relevant international partners including ILO to acknowledge the value of local level knowledge and insights without taking a one-sided prescriptive approach that one model fits all,” he continued.
Mentioning the conditions in the labour sector, Foreign Minister said, “We would urge ILO to join us in such forward-looking efforts without dragging us into the unfortunate past that otherwise only helps serve some vested national and international interest and agenda.”
Stressing the need of ILO projects, he said, “ILO projects need to be geared at building national and local level capacities by strengthening our concerned oversight and regulatory bodies.”
But he further said, “We notice a tendency for ILO to carry out tasks through its own personnel which often fails to leave a sustainable impact on the national and local institutions. We wish to see ILO as a partner in capacity building and not to overlook local realities.”
He also said that ILO takes up projects with different public and private sector entities bypassing its core tripartite structure which should not ideally be the case.
“Any project undertaken in consultation with any other Ministry should be reported on a regular basis to the Ministry of Labor and Employment, and should be premised on the tripartite consultative mechanism. We count on ILO to align its work with our national development strategies and not be guided by a donor-driven agenda, or other interest,” he added.
Urging the ILO to take a more vocal stand in favor of upholding the fundamental rights at work for migrant workers, he said, “It is unfortunate that the international trade union bodies often pay nothing more than lip service for protecting the rights and interest of migrant workers. Migrant workers are development partners, they are human beings and they need protection from injustice.”
About government’s effort for job creation, he said, “Our government remains determined to navigate the current cost-of-living crisis in the wake of the war in Ukraine by continuing our efforts to create decent jobs for our young workforce and by expanding the reach of social safety nets to help poor households offset the inflationary pressures.”