Labour and Employment Adviser Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain on Sunday said the labour law enacted under the interim government is the best Bangladesh has ever had, compared to all previous labour laws in the country’s history.
“Considering all labour laws in Bangladesh’s history, it was not possible to have a better law than the one enacted during the interim government,” he said.
Speaking at a programme organised by the Citizen’s Platform at city’s Agargaon, Sakhawat said major changes were brought to the Bangladesh Labour Act based on the recommendations of the Labour Reform Commission.
“While there may be frustration over other reform commissions, we have introduced significant changes to the Labour Act following the labour reform commission’s recommendations. This law can truly be described as worker-friendly,” he said.
Sakhawat said conflict of interest had long been a major obstacle to formulating a strong labour law, adding that although the law could have been improved further, the newly enacted law is the best possible within the limited time.
The adviser said business leaders had accused him of prioritising workers alone. “That allegation is true. This labour law has been prepared keeping workers’ rights in mind. Chief Adviser gave me full freedom in drafting this law,” he said.
The adviser said the International Labour Organization (ILO) has praised the new labour law, describing it as an ‘eye-opening law’. “The ILO said they never expected such a strong labour law from Bangladesh.”
Expressing frustration over the state of public administration, Sakhawat said nearly every ministry is facing severe institutional collapse and has yet to fully recover.
“In the few months I have worked across different ministries, I found all of them in a collapsed administrative state. Massive misappropriation of public funds takes place here. Being part of the cabinet, there are many things I want to say but cannot,” he said.
The adviser expressed optimism that reforms initiated during the interim government’s tenure would be completed by an elected government.
“When the interim government assumed office, the country was in a shattered state. It was not possible for this government to fix everything under such circumstances—this limitation cannot be denied,” he added.