CO–Dhaka

What's New

1. World Day for Safety and Health at Work:
   ILO calls for urgent global action to fight occupational diseases

   Press release, 26 April 2013

   According to a new ILO report, prevention is key to tackling the growing number of work-related diseases, which claim an estimated 2 million lives per year.

2. 

   Every skills development programme can include persons with disabilities: 7th plenary session on developing a National Strategy for Disability Inclusion in Skills Development in Bangladesh

   13 April 2013, Dhaka, Bangladesh

   The UN unanimously adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 13th December 2006, which entered into force on 3rd May 2008. Bangladesh was one of the pioneering countries to ratify this Convention and is pledge bound to implement the human rights treaty in its entirety ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities in the country. Five years on we look at the progress which the Government of Bangladesh, supported by the ILO, is making to include persons with disabilities in the national skills development system.

3. 

   Fire Safety - Tripartite Partners Adopt National Tripartite Plan of Action on Fire Safety for the Ready-Made Garment Sector In Bangladesh

   25 March 2013, Dhaka, Bangladesh

   A devastating fire destroyed Tazreen Fashions Limited in November 2012 leaving 112 workers dead and many others injured. This immense loss of life shocked the world and spurred the tripartite constituents of the ILO - government, employers and workers - into developing a National Tripartite Plan of Action on Fire Safety for the Ready-Made Garment Sector in Bangladesh. A second successive fire at Smart Export Garments in January 2013 in which 8 workers died and others were injured underlined the need to take urgent action

4. 

   Scenario Planning for the Tourism and Hospitality Sector: Residential Workshop

   15 March to 16 March 2013, Dhaka, Bangladesh

   Sustainable tourism has been identified by the UN as an effective means to reduce poverty in developing countries. The hospitality and tourism sector is a key potential growth area for Bangladesh, however proper infrastructure, sectoral guidelines and skilled manpower are some of the major areas prohibiting growth.

5. 

   Policy Working Group Meeting on “The RMG sector in Bangladesh: Supplying Globally, Promoting Decent Work Locally”

   13 March 2013, Dhaka, Bangladesh

   The theme of the meeting was “The RMG sector in Bangladesh: Supplying Globally, Promoting Decent Work Locally”. The meeting was Co-chaired by Mr. Mikail Shipar, Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment and Mr. Amitava Chakraborty, Additional Secretary and Director General, WTO Cell, Ministry of Commerce. Mr. Gagan Rajbhandari, Officer- in- Charge, ILO Country Office for Bangladesh has delivered the welcome remarks in the meeting.

6. 

   Orientation Workshop for Dhaka Ahsania Mission Project Staff and Management
   

   12 March 2013, Dhaka, Bangladesh

   ILO executed Labour Migration project supported Dhaka Ahsania Mission conduct an Orientation Workshop to familiarize project staff and management with the implementation approach and methodology for implementing a pilot initiative to give top-up technical training and impart life skills and pre-departure information to equip the Bangladeshi workers who have made a decision to migrate for work in another country and to support left behind families of the migrant workers.
   

7. 

   Moving forward, empowering change in industries in Bangladesh: Leadership workshop

   25 February to 28 February 2013, Dhaka, Bangladesh

   In developing countries with rapidly expanding economies such as Bangladesh, it is imperative that industrial growth is supported by strong skill development systems that maximize the potential productivity of the workforce. Strong skill development systems require leadership by industry as well as the public sector, and the objective of this workshop is to further develop the leadership skills of key individuals.

8. 

   ILO Labour Migration Project office inaugurated on 11 March 2013
   

   11 March 2013, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

   The ILO Labour Migration Project office was jointly inaugurated on 11 March 2013 by the Honorable Minister of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment (MEWOE) and the Director-General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in the Ministry premises in the Probashi Kalyan Bhaban.

9. 

   Tripartite Consultation Workshop: "Building Knowledge-base and Promoting Rights of the Bangladesh Workers on the Move"
   

   06 February 2013, Dhaka, Bangladesh

   A Tripartite Workshop titled "Building Knowledge-base and Promoting Rights of the Bangladesh Workers on the Move" co-organized by the Human Development Research Centre (HDRC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Dhaka. The workshop included a wide range of stakeholders representing private and public sector banks, civil society organizations, migrant workers associations, international organizations, media and the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment (MEWOE).

10. 

    Press Release

    Women with disabilities boost Chittagong's growing RMG sector

    Chittagong Mohila Polytechnic Institute this week inaugurated a new competency-based sewing machine operator’s training program for women with disabilities.
    Ambassador William Hanna, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh inaugurated the program, with Mr Md Shahjahan Mian, Director General, Directorate of Technical Education and Mr Arthur Shears, Chief Technical Advisor, ILO TVET Reform Project in Bangladesh.
    The course is based on a model developed through the ILO TVET Reform Project that was first piloted successfully with the Directorate of Technical Education, Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed and Interfab Shirt Manufacturing. The market driven vocational skills training course prepares the trainees for work as machine operators in Bangladesh’s quickly growing readymade garments (RMG) industry.

11. 

    Press Release

    New opportunities for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh

    Gazipur Technical School & College this week inaugurated a new sewing machine operator’s course which included persons with disabilities. The course is an important step towards meeting the growing skill needs of the quickly expanding readymade garments industry in Bangladesh.
    The readymade garments industry is one of the biggest export sectors in Bangladesh, making up USD 12.75 billion, or 79.33% of its total exports in 2009. Gazipur Technical School & College (TSC) is one of the first public institutions in Bangladesh to integrate persons with disabilities into formal readymade garments training programs.

12. 

    Press Release

    Tripartite Meeting on Fire Safety in the Workplace in Bangladesh

    Dhaka (ILO News)

    A tripartite meeting on fire safety in the work place in Bangladesh was organized jointly by the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the ILO on 15 January 2013. Following the daylong deliberations, a tripartite statement of commitment was adopted and signed at the meeting

13. 

    Meeting

    Working Together for the Rights of the Migrant Workers
    

    3 December 2012, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Trade Unions hold a consultation to develop a common minimum agenda and a plan of action on the rights of the Bangladeshi migrant workers. The opening of the event was marked by the presence of not only the trade union leaders but also the representatives of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment (MEWOE) and the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA). Participation of all the Tripartite Constituents in the opening informed the discussions that followed during the day.

14. Press Release

    ILO’S Press Release on the tragic incident of fire in a garment factory at Ashulia

    Dhaka (ILO News)

    The International Labour Organization (ILO) is greatly shocked and saddened by the tragic incident of fire in a garment factory at Ashulia adjacent to Dhaka on 24 November 2012 that resulted in the unfortunate deaths of more than 100 workers. The ILO extends its sincere condolences to the bereaved families of the victims and conveys its sympathy to those injured due to the fire.