ILO
ILO helps develop campaign strategy for vocational education
The Department of Technical Education, through the Skills 21 project, will start a year-round campaign to increase the popularity of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
The campaign strategy has been developed with the assistance of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the implementor of the Skills 21 project funded by the European Union.
An orientation workshop was held in Dhaka on implementing this campaign strategy on Saturday, 18 September, 2021. Principals, Chief Instructors and officials of various technical education and training institutes, including polytechnic institutes, technical schools and colleges of the country and officials of the Technical and Madrasah Education Division (TMED) and the Dept. of Technical Education (DTE), took part in the workshop.
Read:ILO: Slow jobs recovery, increased inequality risk long-term COVID-19 scarring
The workshop was inaugurated by the Secretary of the Technical and Madrasah Education Division, Md. Aminul Islam Khan. “Creating young people’s interest in technical education is an important task at the moment,” he said. “Research is underway in developed countries as well as in developing countries to expand technical education. The Government of Bangladesh has also made it a priority in the continuity of development. We want mainstream students to be attracted to technical education and help build a skilled Bangladesh,” he added.
Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director of the International Labour Organization, said, “The awareness-raising could only be effective when it reflects the stakeholders’ right messages, language, and communication channels. The campaign aims to use specific media to convey particular messages to the audiences, such as skills training, job opportunities, and decent employment.”
Maurizio Cian, Head of Cooperation of the European Union, said at the workshop that the European Union has been working since 2007 to reform Bangladesh’s technical education system. Funding has been provided to develop the National Skills Development Policy-2011, NTVQF, quality assurance system etc. The EU envoy called for an effective awareness campaign to give young people a clear idea of technical education’s scope, effectiveness, context, and job opportunities.
Other speakers at the workshop said Bangladesh, as a country, is currently feeling the urge to ensure maximum utilization of demographic dividends. At least two million young people enter the labour market every year. The speakers emphasized raising the standard of technical education and training institutions to turn them into skilled people.
Read: Bangladesh elected ILO Covid-19 Technical Committee chair
It was informed at the workshop that the pilot program is starting in the first week of October at Sylhet Technical School and College as part of a detailed work plan across the country. This is followed by campaigns at Bangladesh Sweden Polytechnic Institute, Kaptai, Rangamati and Gaibandha Technical Training Center.
Field-level information and recommendations will be integrated to finalize the strategy for this campaign. Based on the experience gained after organizing the first part of the program in three organizations in Sylhet, Rangamati and Gaibandha, the next part of the program will be organized in four more partner TVET institutes of the ‘Skills-21’ project.
Another workshop will be organized later based on all the results at the field level. There, those concerned will work to make the strategy more perfect. This strategy will then be implemented as an awareness program in technical and vocational education and training institutions all over the country.
ILO spreads Covid-19 awareness among RMG workers
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched the "Behaviour Change Awareness Campaign" to identify and reduce the Covid-19 risks faced by readymade garment (RMG) workers in their workplaces and communities.
Launched in June in collaboration with Brac, the campaign targeted at least 5,000 households in the RMG-dense areas of Gazipur and Chattogram, covering a population of more than 20,000 people, with at least 60% of the beneficiaries being women.
Funded by Denmark and Sweden, the campaign is a part of the ILO's Social Dialogue and Industrial Relations project's Covid-19 response work, jointly with the Department of Labour, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Employers' Federation, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Workers Resource Centre.
The campaign was developed based on the findings of a pulse survey conducted on 300 apparel workers to identify the gaps in their understanding of Covid-19 risks and preventive measures.
For example, only 38.6% of the respondents recognised Covid-19 as a deadly disease, and over one-third of expectant and new mothers surveyed had the misconception that breastmilk can spread Covid-19. So, the survey findings suggested launching an integrated behaviour change campaign.
With the tagline "Keep Corona away by knowing and complying," the campaign aims to inform RMG workers, their families and communities about Covid-19 symptoms. Special emphasis has been put on Covid-19 health tips for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
"As the second wave of Covid-19 continues to impact Bangladesh's apparel industry, personal and occupational protection against the disease has become a key component in every effort to build back better from the pandemic," Tuomo Poutiainen, country director of ILO Bangladesh, said.
"The campaign will complement the ILO's ongoing support to the industry by creating awareness and providing advice to build safe and healthy practices that protect workers and encourage good public behaviour at large," he added.
Featuring a series of awareness-raising videos, posters, leaflets, door-to-door meetings and public service announcements, the campaign will run till the end of October this year.
Other features of the campaign are community-level engagements, distribution of hygiene kits, social media campaigns, and SMS and voice messages that are being disseminated through mobile phones.
ILO saddened by Rupganj factory fire, urges proper safety measures in factories
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said the latest factory fire illustrates the urgent need in Bangladesh for authorities and building owners to ensure that buildings are built and operated in compliance with national code requirements.
"If the fire safety measures required by the regulations were properly implemented, it would provide for safe evacuation of occupants in this type of emergency," ILO said on Saturday adding that thousands of workers spend the better part of their day in factories.
Read: Rupganj factory fire: Sajeeb Group chairman, 4 sons, CEO arrested
The ILO is "deeply saddened" by the tragic loss of life of at least 52 workers from a fire in the Hashem Food and Beverage factory in Rupganj area of Naranyanganj, and to see reports of underage workers among the victims.
"We extend our heartfelt condolences and solidarity with the families of the victims and others injured at this factory," it said.
The ILO has worked closely with the Government of Bangladesh, employers’ and workers’ organisations and development partners to improve working conditions in the ready-made garment (RMG) industry.
Read: Rupganj factory fire: Fire Service forms 5-member probe body
The ILO is working with the government’s labour inspectorate to enhance the effectiveness of safety inspections, and is helping with the development and implementation of an industrial safety framework that would extend the good practices applied over the past eight year in the RMG sector to all other industries.
Read: Trapped in a building with no fire exit and gates locked , workers were burn to a pulp
"This latest incident illustrates the urgency of that endeavour. The ILO will continue to work with the Government of Bangladesh and the employers’ and workers’ organisations on these efforts," it said.
The ILO hoped that this tragic accident will drive all parties involved to apply renewed vigour in addressing the safety deficits in workplaces across the country.
Bangladesh reinstated Walt Disney sourcing country
The Walt Disney Company, which stopped sourcing from Bangladesh in 2013 amid the fire and building collapse disasters, has considered including the country in its permitted sourcing country list with International Labor Standard (ILS) audits.
The information came from a trusted source and the official notification of Disney is yet to be published, said the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on Friday.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan welcomed the timely move of Walt Disney in recognition of the progress and transformation in the industry – particularly in the area of workplace safety, social standards and environmental sustainability.
Also read: AAFA meeting: BGMEA stresses responsible supply chain, ethical sourcing
Factories participating in the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Better Work Bangladesh programme will be entitled to become a vendor. They will also need to participate in the Nirapon or RMG Sustainability Council along with specific remediation fulfilment criteria.
Over the past years, the industry has made unprecedented efforts and investments to ensure safety covering fire, electrical and structural integrity, a robust follow up of factory remediation, to create a culture of safety while promoting the wellbeing of the workers.
The entire safety transformation programme was supported and facilitated by the government, the ILO, international brands, manufacturers and the global unions.
Also read: UNDP & BGMEA pledge to continue collaboration on sustainable growth goals
The Hong Kong-based supply chain compliance solutions provider "QIMA" ranked Bangladesh as the second-highest Ethical Manufacturing country in its recent report "QIMA Q1 2021 Barometer."
The rating included performance against parameters like hygiene, health and safety, child and young labour, labour practices including forced labour, worker representation, disciplinary practices and discrimination, working hours and wages, and waste management.
Covid-19 affected 60 million-plus domestic workers in informal economy: ILO
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated working conditions that were already very poor, and domestic workers were more vulnerable to the fallout from the pandemic because of long-standing gaps in labour and social protection, according to a new ILO report.
''This particularly affected the more than 60 million domestic workers in the informal economy,'' the report noted.
Ten years after the adoption of an historic International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention that confirmed their labour rights, domestic workers are still fighting for recognition as workers and essential service providers.
Working conditions for many have not improved in a decade and have been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.
Also read: ILO: Slow jobs recovery, increased inequality risk long-term COVID-19 scarring
At the height of the crisis, job losses among domestic workers ranged from 5-20 percent in most European countries, as well as Canada and South Africa. In the Americas, the situation was worse, with losses amounting to 25-50 percent. Over the same period, job losses among other employees were less than 15 percent in most countries.
Data in the report shows that the world’s 75.6 million domestic workers (4.5 percent of employees worldwide) have suffered significantly, which in turn has affected the households that rely on them to meet their daily care needs.
"The crisis has highlighted the urgent need to formalise domestic work to ensure their access to decent work, starting with the extension and implementation of labour and social security laws to all domestic workers," said ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder.
A decade ago the adoption of the landmark Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) was hailed as a breakthrough for the tens of millions of domestic workers around the world – most of whom are women.
Also read: ILO, UNICEF record first increase in child labour in two decades
Since then there has been some progress – with a decrease of more than 16 percentage points in the number of domestic workers who are wholly excluded from the scope of labour laws and regulations.
Domestic work remains a female-dominated sector, employing 57.7 million women, who account for 76.2 percent of domestic workers. While women make up the majority of the workforce in Europe and Central Asia and in the Americas, men outnumber women in Arab States (63.4 percent) and North Africa, and make up just under half of all domestic workers in Southern Asia (42.6 percent).
The vast majority of domestic workers are employed in two regions. About half (38.3 million) can be found in Asia and the Pacific – largely on account of China – while another quarter (17.6 million) are in the Americas.
Bangladesh reelected ILO Deputy member
Bangladesh has been reelected deputy member of the governing body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) from the Asia-Pacific region for the term 2021-2024.
The election was virtually held on Monday in Geneva during the ongoing 109th International Labour Conference (ILC).
This is the third consecutive victory for Bangladesh in the ILO governing body.
Also read: Bangladesh elected ILO Covid-19 Technical Committee chair
Earlier, Bangladesh had served as a deputy member for the terms 2014-2017 and 2017-2021.
Bangladesh secured the first position among the candidates of the Asia-Pacific region by bagging the highest 210 votes.
Also read: ILO lauds progress in RMG sector
A Bangladesh delegation, led by Begum Monnujan Sufian, State Minister for Labour and Employment, is virtually attending the ongoing ILC, which includes Labour Secretary KM Abdus Salam and Md Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladesh Ambassador and Permanent Representative in Geneva.
Also read: ILO, UNICEF record first increase in child labour in two decades
Child labour begins to creep back up after two decades: UN agencies
Child labour has risen to 160 million worldwide, an increase of 8.4 million in the last four years as countries are trying to turn the corner and break the cycle of poverty and child labour, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Unicef.
They also warn that 9 million more children are at risk as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and this number could rise to 46 million if they do not have access to critical social protection coverage.
ILO, UNICEF record first increase in child labour in two decades
The number of children in child labour has risen to 160 million worldwide – an increase of 8.4 million children in the last four years – with millions more at risk due to the impacts of COVID-19, said the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF in a new report on Saturday.
Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director for ILO Country Office for Bangladesh said Bangladesh must keep the fight against child labour at the top of the agenda so that progress made in recent years is not lost.
Read: Country will be free of child labour within 2025: Monnujan Sufian
"We will continue to work closely with all our partners and focus on compulsory education, skill development, and social protection programmes – not only to address child labourers and vulnerable children, but also to provide decent working opportunities for parents and older siblings. It is high time to maximise the demographic dividend of the country and strengthen measures to produce a skilled, healthy, and productive labour force,” said Poutiainen.
Children in child labour are at risk of physical and mental harm.
Child labour compromises children’s education, restricting their rights and limiting their future opportunities, and leads to vicious inter-generational cycles of poverty and child labour.
Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh said with school closures in place since March 2020 and poverty levels rising amidst the pandemic, UNICEF is concerned that growing numbers of children are being pushed into child labour.
Read: Govt determined to make Bangladesh free from child labour to achieve sdgs
"Families are struggling to cope and using every available means to survive. We need to prioritize the needs of children and address the wider social issues that enable these harmful practices to continue."
Child Labour: Global estimates 2020, trends and the road forward - released ahead of World Day Against Child Labour on 12th June – warns that progress to end child labour has stalled for the first time in 20 years, reversing the previous downward trend that saw child labour fall by 94 million between 2000 and 2016.
The report points to a significant rise in the number of children aged 5 to 11 years in child labour, who now account for just over half of the total global figure.
The number of children aged 5 to 17 years in hazardous work – defined as work that is likely to harm their health, safety or morals – has risen by 6.5 million to 79 million since 2016.
“The new estimates are a wake-up call. We cannot stand by while a new generation of children is put at risk,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder.
“Inclusive social protection allows families to keep their children in school even in the face of economic hardship. Increased investment in rural development and decent work in agriculture is essential. We are at a pivotal moment and much depends on how we respond. This is a time for renewed commitment and energy, to turn the corner and break the cycle of poverty and child labour.”
In sub-Saharan Africa, population growth, recurrent crises, extreme poverty, and inadequate social protection measures have led to an additional 16.6 million children in child labour over the past four years.
Even in regions where there has been some headway since 2016, such as Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean, COVID-19 is endangering that progress.
The report warns that globally, nine million additional children are at risk of being pushed into child labour by the end of 2022 as a result of the pandemic.
A simulation model shows this number could rise to 46 million if they don’t have access to critical social protection coverage.
Additional economic shocks and school closures caused by COVID-19 mean that children already in child labour may be working longer hours or under worsening conditions, while many more may be forced into the worst forms of child labour due to job and income losses among vulnerable families.
“We are losing ground in the fight against child labour, and the last year has not made that fight any easier,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
“Now, well into a second year of global lockdowns, school closures, economic disruptions, and shrinking national budgets, families are forced to make heart-breaking choices. We urge governments and international development banks to prioritize investments in programmes that can get children out of the workforce and back into school, and in social protection programmes that can help families avoid making this choice in the first place.”
Other key findings in the report include:
The agriculture sector accounts for 70 per cent of children in child labour (112 million) followed by 20 per cent in services (31.4 million) and 10 per cent in industry (16.5 million).
Nearly 28 per cent of children aged 5 to 11 years and 35 per cent of children aged 12 to 14 years in child labour are out of school.
Child labour is more prevalent among boys than girls at every age. When household chores performed for at least 21 hours per week are taken into account, the gender gap in child labour narrows.
The prevalence of child labour in rural areas (14 per cent) is close to three times higher than in urban areas (5 per cent).
To reverse the upward trend in child labour, the ILO and UNICEF called for adequate social protection for all, including universal child benefits.
They called for ncreased spending on quality education and getting all children back into school - including children who were out of school before COVID-19, promotion of decent work for adults, so families don’t have to resort to children helping to generate family income and an end to harmful gender norms and discrimination that influence child labour.
Also investment in child protection systems, agricultural development, rural public services, infrastructure and livelihoods.
As part of the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour, the global partnership Alliance 8.7, of which UNICEF and ILO are partners, is encouraging member States, business, trade unions, civil society, and regional and international organizations to redouble their efforts in the global fight against child labour by making concrete action pledges.
During a week of action from 10 – 17 June, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder and UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore will join other high-level speakers and youth advocates at a high-level event during the International Labour Conference to discuss the release of the new global estimates and the roadmap ahead.
ILO lauds progress in RMG sector
International Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Director in Bangladesh Tuomo Poutiainen has praised the development that the readymade garment (RMG) sector has made in the areas of workplace safety and social compliance.
A delegation of the ILO led by its Country Director held a meeting with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan at BGMEA office on Sunday.
They discussed the progress of the ongoing projects jointly implemented by ILO and BGMEA in the RMG sector.
Also read: Bangladesh elected ILO Covid-19 Technical Committee chair
They also had discussion on the possible avenues of collaboration between ILO and BGMEA for further development of the industry, especially for workers’ well-being, said a BGMEA media release.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan expressed his thanks to the ILO for providing its support to Bangladesh garment industry in ensuring workers’ rights and welfare.
BGMEA Vice President Miran Ali, Directors Barrister Shehrin Salam Oishee and Asif Ashraf were present.
Also read: Long working hours increase deaths from heart disease, stroke: WHO, ILO
Long working hours increase deaths from heart disease, stroke: WHO, ILO
Long working hours led to 745 000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, a 29 per cent increase since 2000, say the latest estimates on Monday (May 17, 2021).
The latest estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) were published in Environment International on Monday.
In a first global analysis of the loss of life and health associated with working long hours, WHO and ILO estimate that, in 2016, 398 000 people died from stroke and 347 000 from heart disease as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week.
Read Create more overseas jobs for female workers: Speakers
Between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease due to working long hours increased by 42%, and from stroke by 19%.
This work-related disease burden is particularly significant in men (72% of deaths occurred among males), people living in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions, and middle-aged or older workers.
Most of the deaths recorded were among people dying aged 60-79 years, who had worked for 55 hours or more per week between the ages of 45 and 74 years.
Read: Indian COVID variant: Why is it more deadly? How is it affecting the neighboring countries?
With working long hours now known to be responsible for about one-third of the total estimated work-related burden of disease, it is established as the risk factor with the largest occupational disease burden.
This shifts thinking towards a relatively new and more psychosocial occupational risk factor to human health.
The study concludes that working 55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week.
Read: What does it feel like to get COVID-19 after taking the vaccine?
Further, the number of people working long hours is increasing, and currently stands at 9% of the total population globally.
This trend puts even more people at risk of work-related disability and early death.
The new analysis comes as the COVID-19 pandemic shines a spotlight on managing working hours; the pandemic is accelerating developments that could feed the trend towards increased working time.
Read Uncertain, uneven recovery likely amid unprecedented labour market crisis: ILO
“The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the way many people work,“ said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
He said teleworking has become the norm in many industries, often blurring the boundaries between home and work.
In addition, he said many businesses have been forced to scale back or shut down operations to save money, and people who are still on the payroll end up working longer hours.
Read Homeworkers need to be better protected, says ILO
"No job is worth the risk of stroke or heart disease. Governments, employers and workers need to work together to agree on limits to protect the health of workers," said the WHO DG.
“Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard,” added Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, at the World Health Organization.
“It’s time that we all, governments, employers, and employees wake up to the fact that long working hours can lead to premature death”.
Read Safe Lifestyle in COVID-19 Lockdown: Do's, Don'ts, and Precautions
The WHO and ILO said Governments, employers and workers can take the following actions to protect workers’ health:
Governments can introduce, implement and enforce laws, regulations and policies that ban mandatory overtime and ensure maximum limits on working time; bipartite or collective bargaining agreements between employers and workers’ associations can arrange working time to be more flexible, while at the same time agreeing on a maximum number of working hours; and employees could share working hours to ensure that numbers of hours worked do not climb above 55 or more per week.
Read 81 million jobs lost as COVID-19 creates turmoil in Asia Pacific labour markets: ILO
Two systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the latest evidence were conducted for this study.
Data from 37 studies on ischemic heart disease covering more than 768 000 participants and 22 studies on stroke covering more than 839 000 participants were synthesized.
The study covered global, regional and national levels, and was based on data from more than 2300 surveys collected in 154 countries from 1970-2018.
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