ILO
BIDA, ILO sign deal to streamline one-stop service for investors
International Labour Organization (ILO) and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) have signed an agreement to promote, simplify and harmonize the one-stop service (OSS) of BIDA.
Under the agreement signed on Tuesday, ILO will support the integration of safety licenses of four national regulators to BIDA-OSS.
Over the course of a year, ILO will provide necessary support to Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence Department (BFSCD), Chattogram Development Authority (CDA), Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) and Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) to integrate and operate their licensing systems to BIDA OSS.
Also read: Youth unemployment rate in Bangladesh stands at 10.6pc: ILO
Additionally, ILO will facilitate the simplification of application and payment process in BIDA-OSS, and support an awareness campaign to promote the system among investors.
These activities will be conducted under the remit of ILO’s RMG programme funded by Canada and Netherlands.
The programme would also provide essential technical and financial support to BFSCD, CDA, DIFE and RAJUK to interconnect their safety licencing systems to BIDA-OSS.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Country Director of ILO Bangladesh Tuomo Poutiainen said investment in workplace safety protects businesses from occupational hazards and improves the brand image of Bangladesh.
“We hope integrating relevant safety licencing systems in the BIDA-OSS and simplification of the OSS process is a necessary step to attract more local and foreign investors to apply for safety permits,” Poutiainen said.
Also read: UNDP, Grameenphone, BIDA join hands to create economic opportunities for youth
Executive Chairman of BIDA Md Sirazul Islam said BIDA is pleased to collaborate with the ILO to streamline one-stop service system.
“We believe the harmonization and simplification of BIDA-OSS will help investors save time and cost for setting up their businesses,” he said.
Youth unemployment rate in Bangladesh stands at 10.6pc: ILO
In Bangladesh, the youth unemployment rate currently stands at 10.6%, more than twice the overall national unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, said the International Labour Organization (ILO) on Thursday.
Youth unemployment increased significantly during the COVID-19 Pandemic, it said. ILO is supporting the Government of Bangladesh in boosting employment for young people through skills training and industrial apprenticeships, as well as promoting entrepreneurship and skilled labour migration.
‘’Skilled youth is the key to Bangladesh’s future,” said Director for ILO Country Office, Bangladesh, Tuomo Poutiainen.
Poutiainen said ILO is proud to partner with the government of Bangladesh to build young people’s skills and employability.
Recovery in youth employment is still lagging, according to a new report by the IILO published on the eve of International Youth Day that falls on August 12 every year.
The report confirms that the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt young people more than any other age group.
The Global Employment Trends for Youth 2022 report finds that the pandemic has exacerbated the numerous labour market challenges facing those aged between 15 and 24 years, who have experienced a much higher percentage loss in employment than adults since early 2020.
The total global number of unemployed youths is estimated to reach 73 million in 2022, a slight improvement from 2021 (75 million) but still six million above the pre-pandemic level of 2019, the report says.
The share of youth not in employment, education or training (NEET) in 2020 – the latest year for which a global estimate is available – rose to 23.3 per cent, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the previous year and a level not seen in at least 15 years.
This group of young people is at particular risk of seeing their labour market opportunities and outcomes deteriorate also over the longer-term as “scarring” effects take hold.
Young women are worse off than young men, exhibiting a much lower employment-to-population ratio (EPR).
In 2022, 27.4 per cent of young women globally are projected to be in employment, compared to 40.3 per cent of young men.
This means that young men are almost 1.5 times more likely than young women to be employed.
The gender gap, which has shown little sign of closing over the past two decades, is largest in lower-middle-income countries, at 17.3 percentage points, and smallest in high-income countries, at 2.3 percentage points.
Regional Differences
The recovery in youth unemployment is projected to diverge between low- and middle-income countries on the one hand and high-income countries on the other.
High‑income countries are the only ones expected to achieve youth unemployment rates close to those of 2019 by the end of 2022, while in the other country income groups, the rates are projected to remain more than 1 percentage point above their pre-crisis values, says the report.
In Europe and Central Asia (ECA) the unemployment rate of young people is projected to be 1.5 percentage points higher than the world average in 2022 – 16.4 per cent versus 14.9 per cent, respectively.
There has been substantial progress in reducing youth unemployment – for both women and men – but the actual and potential shocks of the war in Ukraine are highly likely to affect the results.
The unemployment rate of young people in the Asia and Pacific region is projected to reach 14.9 per cent in 2022, the same as the global average, although there are important divergences between subregions and countries.
In Latin American countries the youth unemployment rate is still worrying, projected at 20.5 per cent in 2022.
Read: Overseas employment: A possible solution for youth unemployment
Historically, young women’s unemployment rates have been higher than young men’s, but the crisis exacerbated this trend.
The picture is radically different in North America, where the youth unemployment rate is projected to be below world average levels, at 8.3 per cent.
Young women and men are well placed to benefit from the expansion of green and blue (ocean resources and their sustainable use) economies.
According to the report, an additional 8.4 million jobs for young people could be created by 2030 through the implementation of green and blue policy measures.
Targeted investments in digital technologies could also absorb high numbers of young workers.
The report estimates that achieving universal broadband coverage by 2030 could lead to a net increase in employment of 24 million new jobs worldwide, of which 6.4 million would be taken by young people.
The report finds that undertaking the green, digital and care measures together as part of a big investment push would raise global gross domestic product (GDP) by 4.2 per cent and create an additional 139 million jobs for workers of all ages worldwide, of which 32 million would be accounted for by young people.
Decent work
Investment in these sectors must be accompanied by the promotion of decent working conditions for all young workers, the study says.
This includes ensuring that they enjoy fundamental rights and protections including freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, equal pay for work of equal value, and freedom from violence and harassment at work.
“The COVID-19 crisis has revealed a number of shortcomings in the way the needs of young people are addressed, especially the more vulnerable such as first-time jobseekers, school dropouts, fresh graduates with little experience and those who remain inactive not by choice,” said Martha Newton, ILO Deputy Director-General for Policy.
“What young people need most is well‑functioning labour markets with decent job opportunities for those already participating in the labour market, along with quality education and training opportunities for those yet to enter it.”
World Day Against Child Labour tomorrow
The World Day Against Child Labour-2022 will be observed in the country as elsewhere across the globe tomorrow (Sunday).
This year, the theme of the day is ‘Universal Social Protection to End Child Labour’.
The 2022 theme of the world day calls for increased investment in social protection systems and schemes to establish solid social protection floors and protect children from child labour.
Various international and national private organisations including ILO and unicef have chalked out various programmes to mark the day.
Also read: UNRC lauds remarkable eagerness of children to learn
On the occasion of the day, State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian urged the national and international organisations to come forward to stop child recruitment at mills and factories and raise awareness among the people of all stages.
“The government is committed to curbing all kinds of child labour as per the target of SDG,” she said.
Television channels will air special programmes including TVC describing the importance of the day.
According to the United Nations, ILO launched the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 to bring attention to and join efforts to fight against child labour.
Also read: Over 1.5mn children at risk as devastating floods hit north-eastern Bangladesh: UNICEF
While significant progress has been made in reducing child labour over the last two decades, progress has slowed over time, and it has even stalled during the period 2016-2020. Today, 160 million children are still engaged in child labour – some as young as 5.
In 2015 the UN general assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one of which was to eliminate child labour in all forms by 2025.
ILO calls for ensuring proper handling, storage of chemicals in Bangladesh
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has said the fire and explosion at BM Container Depot illustrates the urgent need to ensure proper handling and storage of chemicals.
The incident also illustrates the urgent need to ensure proper training for storage facility staff at awareness and operational levels, and effective crowd control during an emergency incident, it said in a statement on Monday.
Additionally, the UN agency said, the incident underscores the need for an effective industrial and enterprise safety framework and enforcement and training system to ensure a structured approach to mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery to all hazards.
This will require improved collaboration and partnership between government departments, employers and workers representatives, and civil society, it said on Monday.
Read: Operation to douse Ctg depot fire continues; Death toll stands at 50
The ILO says it is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life of at least 50 people including nine fire services professionals from a fire and explosion at BM Container Depot in Chattogram on June 4. “We extend our heartfelt condolences and solidarity with the families of the injured and deceased.”
Tackling this problem calls for action in a number of areas, says ILO, adding that, “These include a review of regulations and enforcement in the transport and logistics sector, the payment of adequate compensation and income support to injured and disabled workers and families of workers who lost lives in work-related accidents, and to conduct safety campaigns that target transport/logistic service providers as well as emergency-service personnel.”
Recently the government, employer and worker representatives have agreed to roll out a modern, comprehensive Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) in Bangladesh starting from the ready-made garment (RMG) sector, with the possibility of extension to other sectors.
Such a system includes accident prevention, immediate and long-term compensation, and rehabilitation to return to work.
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The ILO continues to work closely with the government of Bangladesh, employers’ and workers’ organisations and development partners to improve working conditions in all industries expanding learning from the ready-made garment RMG industry since the Rana Plaza tragedy in April 2013.
Proper monitoring of industries by government to ensure that industrial and accidental risks are properly understood, addressed and prevented is essential to improving safe working conditions in Bangladesh, said ILO.
ILO and the broader UN system in Bangladesh hoped that this tragic accident will drive all parties involved to apply renewed vigour in addressing the safety deficits in workplaces across the country and we extend our assistance to continue to build safer Bangladesh for all.
BGMEA chief meets ILO DG; emphasizes on fair prices
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan has emphasized the need for fair prices to make the apparel industry more sustainable, positively impacting the well-being of garment workers.
Production costs in garment manufacturing have gone up due to increase in prices of yarn, chemicals and other raw materials in the global supply chain and shipping charges, but prices offered by buyers do not reflect the reality and rationality, he said.
His remarks came during a meeting with Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization at the ILO headquarters in Geneva on Tuesday, said the BGMEA on Wednesday.
President of Employers Federation of Bangladesh (BEF) Ardashir Kabir, Executive President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Mohammad Hatem, BGMEA Standing Committee Chair on ILO issue A N M Saifuddin and Secretary-General of BEF Farooq Ahmed were also present in the meeting.
READ: BGMEA, Wazir Advisors to conduct study on capturing non-cotton market share
The delegation apprised the ILO Director-General of the current situation of the ready-made garment industry of Bangladesh, its challenges and opportunities.
They also highlighted how the RMG industry of Bangladesh has gone through the tangible transformation in the areas of workplace safety, labor standards, and environmental sustainability.
With these achievements Bangladesh has earned the global accolades and recognition as a safe and ethical apparel sourcing destinations in the world, they said.
The delegation requested the ILO Director-General to press for the issue of ethical prices in global forums.
Apparel industry delegation meets high officials at ILO HQ
A delegation comprising leaders of apparel industry associations in Bangladesh held a meeting with André Picard, Chief Technical Adviser and Head, Actuarial Services Unit, and Anne-Marie La Rosa of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday.
The delegation included President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Faruque Hassan, President of Employers Federation of Bangladesh (BEF) Ardashir Kabir, Executive President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Mohammad Hatem, BGMEA Vice President Miran Ali, BGMEA Standing Committee Chair on ILO issue A N M Saifuddin and Secretary-General of BEF Farooq Ahmed.
They had discussions about various issues pertaining to the apparel industry of Bangladesh particularly the progress made by the industry in compliance with ILO conventions ratified by the country.
READ: CPD, ILO bring together stake holders to develop national industrial safety framework
They also discussed employment injury insurance schemes for the RMG sector in Bangladesh.
The delegation apprised the ILO of the industry’s ongoing initiatives and programs including ILO’s Better Work Program in the RMG sector to promote decent working conditions in the garment factories.
They asserted the firm commitment of the industry to carry forward the achievements made so far in ensuring a safe and decent workplace for workers and their rights and well-being.
CPD, ILO bring together stake holders to develop national industrial safety framework
The First Industrial Safety Forum in Dhaka organized jointly by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) was held on Thursday.
Think tank CPD brought together national safety regulators, policymakers, academics, employers, workers’ representatives, civil society members and development partners under the ISF to discuss the development of a national industrial safety framework for Bangladesh.
“The infrastructure and institutional preparedness for industrial safety are still at emerging stages in the country. Particularly the building safety, occupational safety and health and environmental sustainability remain outside the core activities in most industrial sectors,” ISF meeting opined.
The ISF aims to inspire and engage the relevant stakeholders to establish a sustainable and transparent industrial safety framework, which will act as a foundation for ensuring workplace safety in all industries across Bangladesh.
Also read: High value public debt spent on nonproductive sector causes imbalance in economy: CPD
Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun attended the forum as the chief guest.
The minister noted that the forum provided a knowledge sharing platform for the stakeholders to collaborate for ensuring a safe working environment in industries.
Md. Ehsan-E-Elahi, secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, stated that the ministry has formed two tri-partite committees to review and amend the labour law to maintain decent workplaces and industrial safety.
“For inclusive growth of the country, the government and the public bodies need to work with the employers and the civil society collaboratively”, said Elahi.
Also read: Under Muhith's leadership economy achieved a number of milestones: CPD
Tuomo Poutiainen, Country (Bangladesh) Director of ILO said, “ISF provided a
platform to discuss, engage and collaborate for improving workplace safety and health in all economic sectors across Bangladesh. We hope the recommendations and commitments shared at the forum will drive the process of developing a national industrial safety framework.”
Speaking at the forum Ardashir Kabir, president of Bangladesh Employers
Federation (BEF) said this will help create interaction to work together for the common cause of raising industrial safety standards.
Workers' rights, collective bargaining essential for global recovery: ILO
After two years of Covid lockdowns and amid increasing pressures on the classic "9 to five" business model – from zero-hours contracts to telework – voluntary negotiations known as collective bargaining had proved their worth, according to the International Labour Organization’s Director-General Guy Ryder.
"Workers want to keep their heads above the water, as prices rise, as they are right now, and they want to ensure workplace safety and secure the paid sick leave that has proved so critical over the last two years," he told journalists in Geneva Thursday.
"Employers for their part have welcomed agreements that have allowed them to retain skilled and experienced workers so that they could restart, recover and rebound."
Ryder added: "The higher the percentage of employees covered by collective agreements, the lower the wage inequality. And the more equality and diversity there is likely to be in the workplace."
According to a new report by the UN agency, over one in three employees in 98 countries now have their wages, working hours and other professional conditions set by collective agreements.
But there is a considerable variation across countries, the ILO said, ranging from over 75 percent of workers having a collective agreement in many European countries and Uruguay, to below 25 percent, in around half the countries where data was available.
Also Read: One-in-four people do not feel valued at work: ILO
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, ILO's Social Dialogue Report 2022 indicated that collective bargaining agreements had helped protect people's jobs and income.
"Collective bargaining has played a crucial role during the pandemic in forging resilience by protecting workers and enterprises, securing business continuity, and saving jobs and earnings," Ryder said, noting that joint accords had also helped allay the concerns of millions of workers by boosting occupational safety and health in the workplace, together with paid sick leave and healthcare benefits.
Flexible working arrangements and leave provisions were negotiated so that workers, particularly women, could balance work with additional care responsibilities relating to school closures or sick family members, he said. "And workers on temporary work had their contracts extended or converted to permanent ones so that they could maintain their earnings."
After two years of upheaval in the workplace caused by the coronavirus, post-pandemic collective agreements have now evolved to reflect the new realities of working from home and other "hybrid" work practices, the ILO director-general said.
ILO hails Bangladesh plan to introduce paternity leave
The ILO country director in Bangladesh has welcomed the government’s plan to introduce paternity leave as encouraging as it allows fathers to share family responsibilities with mothers.
"In Bangladesh, the labour law provides for maternity leave for four months at full pay for a maximum of two children in order to enable women's participation in the workplace,” said Tuomo Poutiainen on Monday.
“It is also encouraging to know that the government is working to introduce paternity leave," said the ILO Bangladesh chief.
His remarks came on a day when the International Labour Organization (ILO) released a new report on Care at work Monday.
Persistent and significant gaps in care services and policies have left hundreds of millions of workers with family responsibilities without adequate protection and support, yet meeting these needs could create almost 300 million jobs by 2035, according to report.
The report, Care at work: Investing in care leave and services for a more gender-equal world of work, finds that three in ten women of reproductive age, or 649 million women, have inadequate maternity protection that does not meet the key requirements of the ILO's Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183).
Poutiainen said investing in the care sector is an important enabling factor for women’s participation in the workplace.
At the same time highly skilled caregiver jobs are an important source of decent work employment accessible to women, which is why ILO supports the initiatives by the Government of Bangladesh in this sector, Poutiainen mentioned.
The ILO, he said, is supporting the Government of Bangladesh in training highly skilled caregivers and referring them to decent work employment opportunities in Bangladesh and abroad.
"So far, the demand by youth for these training opportunities in the care sector has been enthusiastic, and skilled employment in the care sector is expected to rise significantly, following long-term demographic and socio-economic trends," said Poutiainen.
The ILO’s Maternity Protection Convention mandates 14 weeks minimum maternity leave on at least two-thirds of previous earnings, funded by social insurance or public funds.
Eighty-two of the 185 countries surveyed for the report did not meet these standards, although "paid maternity leave or maternity protection is a universal human and labour right", the study says.
At the current pace of reform it will take at least 46 years to achieve minimum maternity leave rights in the countries analyzed, which means the relevant target of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals will not be met.
More than 1.2 billion men of prime reproductive age live in countries with no entitlement to paternity leave, although it would help to balance the work and family responsibilities of both mothers and fathers, the report says.
Where there is paternity leave it remains short – a global average of nine days - creating a large "gender leave gap".
The take-up of paternity leave entitlements is also low; a consequence, the report suggests, of low paternity pay, gender norms and policy design.
The care at work report offers a global overview of national laws, policies and practices on care, including maternity, paternity, parental, child and long-term care. It highlights how some workers fall outside the scope of these legal protections.
ILO offers to work with FBCCI in further improving industrial safety
The International Labour Organisation(ILO) has expressed its keenness to work with the country's top business body, the FBCCI, to make positive changes in Bangladesh’s industries like RMG sector that has become one of the safest industries in the world through reforms.
The issue was discussed when ILO Bangladesh country director Tuomo Poutiainen called on FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin at his office.
READ: FBCCI seeks enhanced trade, investment ties with UK
According to a press release issued from the FBCCI, said the ILO, a specialised UN agency, wants to bring about such positive changes in the rest of the industry.
“That goal requires the involvement of the private sector. That's why the United Nations is keen to work with the country's top business body, the FBCCI,” the press release stated.
ILO director also lauded the major reforms in the garment sector after Rana Plaza disaster and the recent initiative by FBCCI and BIDA to inspect factories producing for the domestic market.
He thanked the FBCCI president for setting up the FBCCI Safety Council on the initiative of the present committee.
Tuomo Poutiainen said it would be easier to improve the labour sector in Bangladesh for them if they have FBCCI, the Bangladesh Employers Federation (BEF), and the related organisations.
BEF president Ardashir Kabir proposed to form two working groups in the two respective trade bodies. These groups will jointly review and finalised the draft work plan prepared by the ILO.
The FBCCI president 108 committees have already been formed under the initiative of FBCCI and BIDA who will initially inspect 500 factories.
The FBCCI president said that the FBCCI experts would give their views on the matter after reviewing the draft work plan prepared by the ILO.
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FBCCI Vice President M A Momen, Md Amin Helaly, Secretary General Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque and FBCCI Safety Council Adviser Brig. General (Retd.) Abu Naeem Md. Shahidullah were present in the meeting.