A bilateral meeting between Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury and International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General Gilbert Houngbo was held at the minister’s office in the Secretariat on Sunday. The cordial meeting held productive discussions on modernising Bangladesh’s labour sector, reforming labour law, creating new jobs and strengthening bilateral cooperation to ensure international labour standards.
Welcoming the ILO director-general to Bangladesh, the minister said the current government is fully committed to protecting workers’ rights and ensuring a safe working environment. He said labour-sector reform is an ongoing process, and that the Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act, 2026, had been enacted as a historic step, taking Bangladesh far forward in ensuring international labour standards. He noted with pride that Bangladesh, as the first country in Asia, has ratified all 10 of the ILO’s fundamental conventions, brightening the country’s image in the global labour arena.
The minister detailed the government’s current and future plans, including amending the Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015, forming a tripartite “National Social Dialogue Forum,” and quickly advancing an independent alternative dispute-resolution system and a digital case-management system. He said steps had been taken to nationalise an “Employment Injury Scheme” to build an integrated social-safety net for workers in both the formal and informal sectors, and that a new “Directorate of Employment” was being established under the ministry to open employment exchanges at district and upazila level and ensure self-employment and technical training. He stressed that the government is committed to full transparency and accountability and will not tolerate any irregularity or syndicate activity in labour migration, and that it is working to send workers to Malaysia and other countries through transparent processes at low cost.
Calling for increased ILO technical and institutional cooperation to meet the challenges of technology and global change and to ensure safe workplaces, the minister said Bangladesh had been playing a highly responsible role as a member of the governing body, with major progress in implementing the ILO’s roadmap, including appointing new labour inspectors. He strongly urged the director-general to quickly settle the ongoing complaint case against Bangladesh under Article 26 of the ILO.
ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo praised Bangladesh’s landmark labour-sector reforms, especially the ratification of the 10 fundamental conventions and the enactment of the new 2026 labour law. He expressed deep respect for the recent movement of Bangladesh’s students and public and for the dynamic leadership and reform-minded spirit of the interim government, and assured that the ILO would stand by Bangladesh in maintaining freedom of association and international labour standards at all workplaces including EPZs, protecting migrant workers and creating jobs, and would continue policy and technical cooperation, including a proposed joint mission next October. Labour and Employment Secretary Md Abdur Rahman Tarafdar, ILO country director Max Tunon and senior officials of the ministry and the ILO were also present.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report