Law Minister Anisul Haque made a promise in the session of the governing body of the International Labor Organization that the government’s efforts to improve the working environment and quality of life of the workers will continue. The minister made this commitment on Tuesday at the 347th session of the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Anisul Haque said, “In 2022, 39,000 inspections were conducted in factories, which is 26 percent more than the target.” He said that 81 new factory inspectors have been appointed in just one and a half years since the formulation of the roadmap, which will be increased in the current year. Three new Labor Courts have been established to ensure justice to workers’ grievances.

As a result, out of 50 complaints of violations of other labor rights, including trade union rights, 41 complaints have been completed and the remaining 9 complaints are pending. Besides, the minister also informed that 97 percent of the grievances received for arbitration have already been settled.

Stating that the helpline of the Ministry of Labor and Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZ) has been launched to resolve the grievances of the workers, Law Minister Anisul Haque further said, ‘The helpline of the Ministry of Labor received 95 percent of the complaints received in the last six months of 2022 and 99.5 percent of the complaints received by the EPZ Authority helpline. has been settled. At this time, the minister took various measures including establishment of online factory inspection system Lima and use of MyGov platform, trade union registration, enactment of anti-discrimination law at workplace, taking appropriate rehabilitation measures by removing more than one lakh children from hazardous work environment, formation of committee to prevent harassment of women at workplace in the light of High Court guidelines. Pointed out.

The minister said that after the Rana Plaza accident, revolutionary progress has been achieved in all the labor-intensive sectors of the country, including the garment factories of Bangladesh. That is why nine of the top ten factories and fifty-two of the top hundred factories in the internationally recognized Leeds ranking have been declared to be located in Bangladesh. In addition to the existing challenges in establishing the fair rights of workers in a populous country, the Law Minister raised the issue of rising fuel prices due to the Covid epidemic and war, and sought the cooperation of all in the continued progress of Bangladesh.

Following the law minister’s speech, the members of the governing body praised the steps taken by the government of Bangladesh in establishing the rights of the working people and ensuring a better working environment.