FUTURE OF WORK: Decent Job and Social Justice for All
Bangladesh enters a period of transition while advancing towards upper-middle-income status and preparing for graduation from the Least Development country (LDC) category.
Sustained economic growth, industrialisation and integration into global markets have created significant employment opportunities, yet major structural challenges remain.
Over four-fifths of the country’s workforce is engaged in informal employment, leaving millions of workers without adequate labour protection or social security.
At the same time digitalisation, automation, climate change, demographic transition and increasing international expectations regarding responsible business conduct are shaping the country’s labour market.
Bangladesh is also undergoing important institutional reforms, including labour law amendments, implementation of the National Social Security Strategy, skills development initiatives and broader efforts to modernise labour governance.
Together with the recommendations of the Labour Reform Commission, these reforms present an important opportunity to strengthen labour market institutions that are responsive to emerging economic realities.
Meantime, the Future of Work has become one of the defining policy challenges of the twenty-first century.
Technological innovation, artificial intelligence (AI), digitalisation, automation, climate change, demographic shifts, evolving business models and changing global value chains are transforming labour markets at an unprecedented pace.
While these transitions create new opportunities for innovation, productivity and economic growth, they also reshape employment relationships, alter skills requirements and generate new forms of labour market vulnerability.
Across the globe, millions of workers continue to face insecure employment, informality, inadequate occupational safety and health, limited access to social protection and widening inequalities.
Moreover, climate change disrupts livelihoods, accelerating labour migration and increasing occupational risks, while digital technologies and platform-based work are challenging conventional labour market institutions.
These developments make it increasingly important to ensure that economic transformation is accompanied by policies that protect workers’ rights, strengthen labour market resilience and promote social justice.
The Future of Work is therefore not simply about adapting to technological change; rather it is about shaping economic and social transformation in ways that ensure productivity, competitiveness and innovation go hand in hand with decent work, equity and inclusion. Achieving this balance requires forward-looking policies, strong labour market institutions and meaningful engagement among governments, employers and workers.
Responding to the Future of Work requires more than technological preparedness or economic reform. It requires governance mechanisms that enable societies to manage transition fairly and ensure that no worker is left behind. In this regard, social dialogue and universal social protection have emerged as two of the most effective and mutually reinforcing policy instruments for advancing decent work and social justice.
Social dialogue enables governments, employers and workers to anticipate labour market change, build consensusaround reforms, strengthen collective bargaining and promote stable industrial relations.
Through inclusive participation and evidence-based policymaking,it helps balance economic competitiveness with workers’ rights and contributes to more resilient labour market institutions.
Universal social protection complements this process by providing workers with security throughout their working lives during periods of transition.
Expanding access to healthcare, employment injury protection, maternity benefits, unemployment support,disability benefits and old-age income security strengthens resilience, reduces inequality and enables workers to adapt to changing labour market conditions with dignity.
Recognising the growing importance of these issues, the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies-BILS that works on labour issues, organised an international symposium titled “Future of Work: Decent Work and Social Justice for All’ at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital recently.
It examined labour market trends, discussed policy responses, and identified practical pathways for advancing decent work and social justice in a rapidly changing world of work.
The symposium was divided into two sessions. Session 1 (Thematic Session 1) dwelt on Shaping the Future of Work: Social Dialogue for an Inclusive and Decent World of Work, while Session 2 (Thematic Session 2) dwelt on Universal Social Protection for a Just World of Work: Challenges and Readiness. In Thematic Session 1, Dr Anannya Raihan, chairperson, Social presented the keynote paper, while Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmmed, Executive Director, BILS acted as moderator. In Thematic Session 2, Mostafiz Ahmed, Professor, Jagannath University delivered his keynote paper, while Dr Jakir Hossain, Professor, University of Rajshahi was the moderator.
The opening ceremony was chaired by Md Mojibur Rahman Bhuiyan, Chairman-BILS, while Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmmed, ED-BILS presented the Welcome Remarks. In the plenary and closing ceremony, Nazrul Islam Khan, Secretary General, BILS and Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, delivered the Concluding Remarks and future pathway.
Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, ED, BILS and Dr Jakir Hossain Professor, University of Rajshahi spoke on Summary of Sessions
The symposium promoted informed dialogue among government, employers, workers’ organisations, academia, development partners and civil society on emerging labour market opportunities and challenges; built greater consensus on strengthening social dialogue and expanding universal social protection as complementary policy responses to the changing world of work;
generated practical recommendations for improving labour market governance, promoting workers’ rights, enhancing institutional preparedness and supporting inclusive economic transformation; encouraged stronger collaboration among key stakeholders in addressing the impacts of technological change, climate change, demographic transition and evolving employment relationships.
It also contributed to ongoing labour policy reforms and future initiatives aimed at strengthening decent work, social justice and sustainable labour market development in Bangladesh.
The event brought together participants from government ministries and departments responsible for labour, employment, social protection, skills development, industry and economic planning; national and sectoral trade union federations; employers’ organisations, industry associations and private sector representatives; research institutions,
policy think tanks and independent experts working on labour, employment, social protection, climate change and economic development; development partners, international organisations, and donor agencies as well as civil society organisations, labour rights organisations and media professionals.
(The writer is a senior journalist and columnist. e-mail: zamkhairz@gmail.com)
