It is encouraging to see the Labour Reform Commission’s recent recommendations to existing laws to improve occupational health and safety and promote healthier workplaces for all workers -- something that has been a long time coming.
Bangladesh has rightfully in the past been criticized for prioritizing development over prioritizing its people. Bangladesh has -- and continues to -- lost too many lives to hazardous occupations, while numerous workplaces are also not fit for workers and employees to be working and are hazardous to their overall well-being.
Indeed, without a genuine commitment to the well-being and safety of the country’s workforce -- the very engine of our economic development -- any and all progress rings hollow.
Therefore, the recommendations offer a timely and necessary blueprint for the immediate future of our country. Chief among these is the urgent call to modernize the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, especially its provisions on occupational health and safety.
By updating the legal framework to better reflect international standards and contemporary workplace hazards, we can begin to align our workers’ welfare with that of our development goals -- something that we should have long aspired towards.
Moreover, robust worker protections are a prerequisite for attracting future investment. Global brands and investors are increasingly scrutinizing and Bangladesh’s ability to demonstrate a strong, enforceable commitment to worker safety will be a decisive factor in securing its place in the world economy post-LDC graduation.
However, beyond investment and growth, these changes are about building a more humane and just society. Economic progress must never come at the cost of human suffering.
