Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury on Monday urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Labour Centre to ensure safe working conditions, social protection and dignified treatment for millions of Bangladeshi workers employed across OIC member states.
The minister raised the issues during a meeting with OIC Labour Centre Director General Azar Bayramov on the sidelines of the 114th International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
Calling for stronger protection of migrant workers, the minister urged the OIC Labour Centre to take more effective measures to guarantee workplace safety, social security and respect for Bangladeshi workers in member countries.
He noted that OIC member states stand to benefit significantly from exchanging best practices and labour market data, adding that there is "ample scope for cooperation and labour market coordination among OIC countries to protect workers facing multifaceted challenges in a rapidly changing job market."
Stressing the need to equip the young workforce with future-ready skills, particularly in science, technology and the digital economy, the minister called on the OIC Labour Centre to extend technical assistance, generate employment opportunities and offer skills development training for Bangladeshi workers.
He also assured the centre of Bangladesh's full cooperation in any training programmes, workshops or capacity-building initiatives it may undertake.
OIC Labour Centre Director General Bayramov thanked Bangladesh for signing the OIC Labour Centre statute and urged Dhaka to ratify it at the earliest.
He assured that his organisation would work specifically to enhance the skills of Bangladeshi migrant workers across OIC countries and ensure their safe working conditions and social protection.
The Bangladeshi delegation included Labour Secretary Md. Abdur Rahman Tarafdar, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Switzerland Nahida Sobhan, Additional Secretary Md. Humayun Kabir, and Deputy Secretaries Syed Irtiza Ahsan and Md. Shamsul Islam.