ILO Governing Body - Report by the Government of Bangladesh on progress made on the implementation of the road map taken to address all outstanding issues

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ILO Governing Body - Report by the Government of Bangladesh on progress made on the implementation of the road map taken to address all outstanding issues

24.03.2023 Press and information team of the Delegation to the UN in Geneva

European Union

Statement

ILO Governing Body, 347^th session

13 - 23 March 2023

Report by the Government of Bangladesh on progress made on the implementation of the road map taken to address all outstanding issues mentioned in the article 26 complaint concerning alleged non-observance of Conventions Nos 81, 87 and 98

GB.347/INS/15

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Geneva, 21 March 2023

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ILO Governing Body, 347th session

13 - 23 March 2023

Report by the Government of Bangladesh on progress made on the implementation of the road map taken to address all outstanding issues mentioned in the article 26 complaint concerning alleged non-observance of Conventions Nos 81, 87 and 98

GB.347/INS/15

EU statement

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries Albania*, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, the Republic of North Macedonia*, Moldova, Montenegro*, the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, align themselves with this statement.

1. The EU and its Member States attach great importance to human rights, including labour rights, with freedom of association and collective bargaining being key enabling rights, and we support the indispensable role played by the ILO in developing, promoting and supervising the application of ratified international labour standards and in particular of the Fundamental Conventions.
2. We thank the Office and give our full support for its continued engagement in promoting labour rights in Bangladesh and monitoring the implementation of the roadmap.
3. We welcome the submission by Bangladesh of a progress report on the implementation of the roadmap, developed around four priority areas.
4. We note the sixth meeting of the Tripartite Working Group formed to amend the Bangladeshi Labour Act that was held in February this year. We also note the publication of the Export Processing Zones Labour Rules in October last year, but further work is necessary to review the inspection framework to ensure independent and free inspections by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments. We acknowledge the continuing training of workers' representatives on the trade union registration process and the ongoing training of labour inspectors. We underline the importance for the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments to have a sufficient number of labour inspectors.
5. However, we would like to repeat that we are concerned that the Government of Bangladesh is lagging behind on fulfilling several actions in the Roadmap and has only partially implemented relevant labour law reforms. We are concerned about the constant delay of the amendment process of the Bangladeshi Labour Act and we encourage the government to proceed in a sustained pace. The revision of the Bangladesh Labour Rules was only minimal and further efforts are needed to bring it in compliance with international labour standards. As regards the Export Processing Zone Labour Act, we urge the government to speed up the process of the review so as to guarantee to workers all rights enshrined in the fundamental ILO Convention No. 87. We are particularly concerned about the remaining obstacles to the unionization of workers, as well as the systematic refusal of workers' rights regarding wage payments, overtime and working conditions. Both employers and the government have a responsibility to ensure these rights.
6. We stress the importance of tripartite consultations, which is also in line with Bangladesh's commitment as a partner in the Global Deal initiative. We therefore welcome that the progress report was discussed at the Tripartite Implementation and Monitoring Committeeprior to its submission. We also welcome the formation of a tripartite committee to draft a national wage policy.
7. We would like to reaffirm our strong commitment to cooperate with Bangladesh, in partnership with the ILO. The EU and its Member States have established a close relationship with Bangladesh, fostering cooperation on implementing labour standards for many years.
8. In this respect, we are monitoring the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) on the Labour Sector of Bangladesh (2021-2026). The National Action Plan and the Roadmap presented to the ILO are mutually reinforcing as they both underline the fundamental importance of compliance with ratified ILO Conventions. We underline the need to implement both on time.
9. While acknowledging the steps taken, we call on the Government for the timely delivery and comprehensive implementation of all its commitments as presented in the four priority areas of the roadmap. Further extended action is still required to address the core of the Article 26 complaint, which compel a continued close monitoring of the progress in the implementation of the roadmap.
10. Chair, in light of the considerations and concerns raised above we can support the decision point.

Thank you, Chair.

[*Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.]