Garment industry in Bangladesh
Future Directions Set for Modernization of the Labour Inspection System in Bangladesh
Participants of a two day workshop on Labour Inspection Management in Bangladesh made a number of recommendations aimed at setting the direction for the modernization of the Labour Inspection System in Bangladesh. The workshop was jointly organized by the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Improving Working Conditions in the RMG Programme (RMGP) of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The workshop was organized under the Improving Working Conditions in the RMG Programme of the ILO that supports the Government of Bangladesh to improve the capacity of its labour inspection system through improvement of the legislation and policy, equipping and training of labour inspectors and supporting the improving of the organizational structure and the business processes of the Department of Inspection of Factories and Establishments (DIFE).
Over 24 officials from the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Department of Factories and Establishments participated in the workshop. The objectives of the workshop is to discuss the labour inspection management process, sharing good practices and example of reform process from other countries and identifying current labour inspection challenges and how to overcome them in Bangladesh. The workshop is intended to result into a Road Map that will help to further build a modern and effective Labour Inspection system in Bangladesh.
Participants of the workshop, most of whom were Labour Inspectors from DIFE stressed the importance of clarity of laws, training and equipment so that they can better perform their work. They also emphasized that the labour inspector’s mandate and powers should be such that they will allow effective enforcement of Labour Law and Occupational Safety and Health regulations.
Mr. Khondaker Mostan Hossain, Joint Secretary, MoLE, Mr. Syed Ahmed, Inspector General, DIFE, Mr. Gagan Rajbhandari Deputy Director, ILO Country Office for Bangladesh and Mr. Tuomo Poutiainen, Programme Manager RMGP attended the inaugural session of the workshop. The workshop was participated and technically supported also by ILO Geneva to advance project implementation.
Second phase of training for Labour Inspectors under way
The RMG Project in collaboration with the International Training Centre (ITC) of ILO has been carrying out a series of Labour Inspection training activities targeting the current and newly recruited labour inspectors of the DIFE.
The training includes a range of different topics such as introduction on labour inspection and OSH, labour inspection strategies, OSH management, labour inspection visit, accident investigation etc. The training includes lectures, role plays and factory visits.
The second phase of the Induction Training commenced on 8 June and will end on 26 June. (1st batch: 8-12 June, 2nd batch: 15-19 June and 3rd batch: 22-26 June 2014). A total of 125 labour Inspectors, of whom 114 are male and 11 are female are being trained in this phase of training.
This labour inspection training together with the labour inspection management workshop form part of the labour inspection reform process in Bangladesh. Future initiatives include Training of Trainers to constitute a core group for training and capacity building, development of labour law guidelines and labour inspection handbook with inspection tools, establishing a central information management system and testing new labour inspection methods in practice in selected pilot district for improvement and adaptation in the future.