The Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) hosted the inaugural meeting of the Tripartite Committee on International Labour Standards (ILS) on Monday (25 August, 2025), marking a significant step toward inclusive dialogues on international labour standards in Bangladesh.
The committee, established on 4 May 2025, aims to institutionalize tripartite consultations and reinforce Bangladesh’s commitment to ILO Convention No. 144, bringing together representatives from the government, employers’ organizations, and workers’ organizations.
Supported by the International Labour Organization (ILO), committee members participated in the ILS Academy in Turin from 12–30 May 2025, gaining essential knowledge and skills to fulfill their mandate.
At the first meeting, chaired by the Honourable Labour Secretary, members:
- Reviewed the committee’s mandate
- Reflected on the May capacity-building programme
- Engaged in tripartite consultations on draft Article 22 reports, focusing on recommendations from the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) regarding:
- Hours of work, weekly rest, and night work (C. 1, 14, 106, 89)
- Labour inspection (C. 81)
- Equal remuneration and non-discrimination (C. 100, 111)
- Child labour (C. 138)
- Social security, accident compensation, and equal treatment (C. 19, 118)
MoLE presented its reports on the application of ratified Conventions and invited feedback from workers’ and employers’ representatives. The committee discussed issues raised by CEACR and plans to collectively identify concrete actions to strengthen the application of ratified Conventions in Bangladesh, both in law and in practice.
Through this initiative, the Bangladesh Government reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening dialogues on international labour standards and improving workers’ lives, with technical support from the ILO.
The programme is supported under the Trade for Decent Work Project, funded by the European Union and the Team Europe Initiative (TEI) on Decent Work in Bangladesh, a joint effort of the EU, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
