The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has called for greater social dialogue among representatives of government, employers and workers within the country’s ready-made garment sector, highlighting the gains this would bring.
“There are considerable benefits to be gained by both businesses and workers from enhanced social dialogue and the better industrial relations this leads to”, Tomoko Nishimoto, Assistant Director General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific of the ILO, said.
Nishimoto was speaking at a National Tripartite Consultation on Strengthening Social Dialogue and Industrial Relations in Bangladesh held today (Tuesday) at a city hotel.
State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu was the chief guest at the event, organised by ILO with support from the governments of Denmark and Norway.
The consultation was organised in order to gain the views and input from representatives of government, employers, workers organisations and development partners on proposed new ILO initiatives to further advance workplace cooperation and industrial relations in Bangladesh.
Nishimoto said social dialogue could deliver enhanced wages and better working conditions by helping workers realise their fundamental rights such as freedom of association and collective bargaining.
She explained that for ILO, social dialogue included all types of negotiation, consultation and exchange of information between, or among, representatives of governments, employers and workers on issues of common interest.
“It is in the very real interests of both workers and businesses to have robust social dialogue at both enterprise and sectoral level,” she added.
Secretary for Labour and Employment Mikail Shipar, Vice-President of the Bangladesh Employers Federation (BEF) Sabrina Islam, President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Md. Atiqul Islam, First Vice-President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) A. H. Aslam Sunny, Chairman of the National Coordination Committee for Workers’ Education (NCCWE) Abdul Mukit Khan, Secretary General of the IndustriAll Bangladesh Council (IBC) Roy Ramesh Chandra and Country Director ILO Bangladesh Srinivas Reddy also participated in the dialogue.
