The newly adopted Bangladesh Labour Rules, which were issued by the Government of Bangladesh on 15 September 2015, set out how the Bangladesh Labour Act is to be implemented.

Two separate two-day training workshops saw 30 officials from the Department of Labour (DoL) and 26 senior leaders of RMG trade union federations take part.

The workshops aimed to orient participants on the interpretation and application of respective Rules in regard to the mandate and functions of the Director of Labour, registration and functions of trade unions, unfair labour practices (e.g., anti-union discrimination), participation committees, conciliation and arbitration as well as the mandates and functions of labour courts. Sessions were also held on international labour standards relating to the labour administration, freedom of association and collective bargaining.

The Director of Labour, Mr. S M Ashrafuzaman attended the opening sessions of both workshops and urged continuing capacity development training for his officials. In response to demands from the DoL and trade union movements, ILO is to organize further training sessions to cover the remaining officials in coming months.

ILO’s Ravi Samithadasa said, “The Bangladesh Labour Rules set out how the Labour Act is to be implemented. For this reason it is vital that Department of Labour officials as well as workers’ representatives understand them well and are able to confidently work with them.” 

The workshops were held 9 to 10 November and 16 to 17 November 2015 at the BRAC Center for Development and Management at Savar and organized in collaboration with the Department of Labour (DoL) with financial support from the Royal Norwegian Government, and the Government of Denmark.