Ambassador Winnie said Bangladesh will lose benefits in terms of low interest financing and free access to the European Union (EU) market with the graduation (to a middle income country).

The diplomat said they believe that the labour market will play an important role in the continued development of Bangladesh, both in terms of growth and investments and also in terms of ensuring stability, democracy, and poverty reduction.’

The Danish Ambassador made the remarks while launching the phase two of Denmark’s strategic sector cooperation in a city hotel.

The phase two of Denmark’s strategic sector cooperation in Bangladesh was launched focusing on occupational health and safety in industries.

Denmark’s development strategy in Bangladesh has a special focus on labour markets and health and safety in the workplace.

Denmark’s focus in this area is supported by Danish Ministry of Employment and facilitated by the Embassy of Denmark in Bangladesh which is working with Bangladesh’s Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Department of Inspection of Factories and Enterprises through a project called ‘Improving the Health and Safety (OSH) of Workers in Bangladesh through the Strengthening of Labour Authorities’.

The phase 1 (2016-2018) of the project consisted of capacity development of the inspectors in Bangladesh’s Department for Inspection of Factories and Enterprises.

Phase two (2018-2021) of the project will continue capacity building and further enable DIFE and the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOLE) to implement the solutions and knowledge acquired during phase one, said the Danish Embassy in Dhaka.

Secretary to the Ministry of Labour and Employment Afroza Khan said Bangladesh is committed to promote OSH culture in the workplace.

In line with this various legal and administrative measures have taken place during the last few years, she said.

National OSH council is established for ensuring safety.

The Government started ‘OSH Good Practices Award’ from 2018 and is going to establish an OSH academy under a self-funded project costing tk 1650 million.

In the first phase of the project supported by Denmark 143 labor inspectors were trained on construction safety, ergonomics safety, machinery safety, chemical safety and accident prevention. 

The second phase will strengthen the ongoing initiatives in order to deliver better inspection services.’

Inspector General in DIFE Mohammed Shamsuzzaman Bhuiyan and Director of International Affairs at the Danish Ministry of Employment Ida Hannibal also spoke at the event.