Labour groups urge stronger action as ILO roadmap enters final year
Trade union leaders and labour rights organisations have urged the government to take faster and more effective steps to implement Bangladesh’s commitments under the International Labour Organisation (ILO) roadmap as the three-year framework enters its final year.
The call was made at a national consultation titled “Implementation of Bangladesh Roadmap to ILO: Progress and Future Actions” held at a city hotel on Monday.
The consultation was organised by the IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC) in collaboration with IndustriALL Global Union and the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), with support from Union to Union.
The discussion reviewed progress made under the roadmap and identified challenges in four priority areas: labour law reform, trade union registration, labour inspection and enforcement, and combating discriminatory and unfair labour practices and violence against workers.
IBC President Mir Abul Kamal Azad chaired the consultation, while Salauddin Shapon moderated the discussion.
In his keynote presentation, IndustriALL Global Union National Consultant Mohammad Nazrul Islam highlighted the progress made in implementing the Bangladesh Roadmap submitted to the ILO, while also outlining concerns and recommendations from workers’ representatives.
The roadmap was developed following complaints by trade union organisations regarding Bangladesh’s compliance with fundamental ILO conventions, including Convention 81 on labour inspection, Convention 87 on freedom of association and Convention 98 on the right to organise and collective bargaining.
Participants said Bangladesh had taken several legal and administrative measures, but effective implementation at workplaces remained a major challenge.
The government established a Labour Reform Commission in November 2024, which submitted its report “Outline for Transforming the World of Work” in April 2025. Bangladesh has also submitted progress reports to the ILO on implementation of the roadmap.
Bangladesh ratified three important ILO conventions in November 2025 — the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187).
The government also amended labour legislation in April 2026, incorporating several commitments, including extending trade union rights to platform and domestic workers, reducing the threshold for trade union formation to 20 workers, expanding maternity and festival leave benefits, strengthening protections against unfair labour practices and increasing the authority of factory inspectors.
However, labour leaders said legal reforms would have little impact unless they were properly implemented.
Speaking at the consultation, Assistant Director of the Department of Labour Sohel Azim highlighted government initiatives in labour administration and discussed the steps taken to improve compliance with labour standards.
Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, Chairman of the National Coordination Committee for Workers’ Education (NCCWE), stressed the need for stronger institutional mechanisms to protect workers’ rights.
Workers Resource Centre (WRC) Chairman Ruhul Amin called for effective implementation of labour reforms and greater accountability of government institutions responsible for protecting workers.
Nazma Akter, President of the Sommilito Garment Sramik Federation (SGSF), emphasised the importance of removing barriers to trade union registration and ensuring workers could exercise their rights freely.
Rashadul Alam Raju, General Secretary of Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers Union Federation (BIGUF), urged the government to take immediate measures to address unfair labour practices and workplace rights violations.
The discussants recommended that the government prepare a time-bound action plan to implement the roadmap in consultation with labour representatives and workers’ rights organisations.
They also called for immediate formation of a minimum wage board for the ready-made garment (RMG) sector, urgent amendment of the Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015 in line with the amended Labour Act, and greater involvement of trade union representatives in the inspection activities of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE).
The consultation recommended removing all obstacles in trade union registration and ensuring that the Department of Labour takes swift action to resolve cases related to unfair labour practices by employers.
IndustriALL Global Union and the IBC also presented their shadow report on the implementation of the roadmap, highlighting gaps between legal commitments and workplace realities.
Representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Department of Labour, DIFE, Tripartite Consultative Council, labour rights organisations, NCCWE, TU-ILS, WRC, BGMEA, BKMEA and IBC member unions attended the consultation.
Arunduty Rani, representative of Union to Union, along with representatives from IndustriALL affiliates, UNI Global and BWI, also participated in the discussion.
As the roadmap approaches its conclusion in 2026, labour leaders said the priority should now be ensuring measurable improvements in freedom of association, collective bargaining, workplace safety and labour inspection rather than focusing only on legislative changes.
