2015

1. CEBAI to boost Bangladesh RMG sector along value chain

   27 April 2015 - 27 April 2020

   The Centre of Excellence for the Bangladesh Apparel Industries (CEBAI) will help the RMG sector compete on the basis of productivity and quality rather than low cost, according to ILO Country Director Srinivas Reddy.

2. Government officials gain understanding indigenous people’s issues

   29 - 31 March 2015

   High-level government officials have gained a better understanding of the issues facing indigenous and tribal people in Bangladesh with emphasis on the Chittagong Hill Tracts

3. UNIDO team visits TVET Reform project

   5 March 2015

   A six person UNIDO team visited the TVETR project to discuss UNIDO contributions to a joint concept note by UN agencies on skills development currently being prepared. The concept note has the National Skills Development Policy as a central theme to which agency activities can be linked.

4. Union leaders learn collective bargaining skills

   23 - 25 February 2015

   A three-day workshop held in Dhaka 23-25 February 2015 brought together 39 such trainers from the National Coordination Committee for Workers Education (NCCWE) ready-made garment sector federations.

5. Implementation of SARTUC Migrant Labour Charter discussed

   2 February 2015

   The members of South Asian Regional Trade Union Council (SARTUC) in Bangladesh met in the capital on 28 January 2015 to discuss the 18th SAARC Summit Declaration, in light of the SARTUC Migrant Worker’s charter and their Plan of Action.

6. Major effort to build health and safety skills in RMG sector underway

   24 January 2015

   Major effort to build health and safety skills in RMG sector underway

2014

1. 

   Implementation of National Skills Development Policy Gaining Traction

   18 - 21 December 2014

   A four day workshop on capacity strengthening for monitoring the implementation of the National Skills Development Policy implementation plan was held in Kisoregonj from December 18 – 21, 2014.

2. 

   Centre of Excellence for Leather (COEL) trained nearly 12000 people

   14 December 2014

   Dhaka: The Centre of Excellence for Leather (COEL) has trained close to 12,000 persons in leather sector as Machine Operator, Supervisor and Machine Maintenance Technician. Employment rate for these newly trained people stands at a staggering ninety-five percent, seventy percent of whom are women. All these 12,000 were registered as apprentices with the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) and received certificates recently.

3. Workplace cooperation in the RMG sector is vital to boost productivity

   29 November 2014

   Leaders and top management of the RMG sector enterprises participated in a consultation meeting on workplace cooperation organized by the International Labour Organization

4. Second skills governance training workshop for skills development professionals held in Sylhet

   27 - 30 November 2014

   Capacity strengthening workshops for professionals in the skills development sector continued in Sylhet Engineering College from November 27-30, 2014. The goal of the second workshop was to develop monitoring tools to measure the progress of implementation of the National Skills Development Policy in each of the participating agencies.

5. EU ambassador visits Barisal welders supported by ILO

   18 November 2014

   Ambassador and Head of EU Delegation Pierre Mayaudon included a visit to Barisal School and College during his first significant field visit outside of Dhaka on 18 November 2014. At the school he toured the welding lab which was equipped by the ILO-implemented, EU-funded TVET reform project.

6. Training on the Classification System Application

   17 November 2014

   ILO is pleased to share that after extensive collaboration with a rage of stakeholders from June onwards the Code of Conduct and the Classification System for the recruitment agents are finalized. The planning, development and validation process has been undertaken under the leadership of the Director-general of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) who heads the Technical Committee for the Development of the Code of Conduct and Classification System for the Recruitment Agents.

7. Workshop on Recrutiment Agencies and International and National Partnerships

   12 - 13 November 2014

   Private employment service providers, called the recruitment agents in Bangladesh, have been one of the lead actors in international job placement of low- to semi-skilled Bangladeshi workers in the international labour market. Given the profile of the client-group, the recruitment agents are expected to do more and better with less resource. There is a consensus among people and policy-makers that employment services are essential for Bangladeshi job-seekers but there is critical need to reform the recruitment practices and professionalize service delivery. As a result, the model of recruitment agents as being “manpower exporter” is no longer desirable. There is a consequent need for the recruitment agents to gradually move to a role as a genuine employment service provider, that includes the role as the co-ordinator/promoter of networks of different service providers within Bangladesh and between Bangladesh and a country of destination.

8. Workshop on regional and bilateral cooperation among the civil society organizations (CSOs)

   10 - 11 November 2014

   The International Labour Organization (ILO) is organizing a two-day-training workshop on regional and bilateral cooperation among the civil society organizations (CSOs). The non-governmental and civil society organizations, including the trade unions, have a key role in the ILO Agenda for Fair Migration. The Annex II to the ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration lists examples of good practices indicating how Governments, social partners (employers and workers organizations), as well as NGOs, have put in practice the principles of labour migration policies. This workshop is an attempt to motivate the CSOs to consider ways they could collaborate to bring out the regional profile of labour migration, particularly, low-skilled workers migration, from South Asia.

9. All hands to the pump: ILO helps boost capacity of the Bangladesh fire service

   19 - 23 October 2014

   Bangladesh’s Fire Service and Civil Defence Department plays a vital role in ensuring the safety of the nation’s vast Ready Made Garment sector.

10. First skills governance training workshop for skills development professionals held in Comilla

    16 - 19 October 2014

    Capacity strengthening workshops for professionals in the skills development sector started in Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development in Comilla from October 16-19, 2014. The goal of the first workshop was to bring the focal points from government ministries, departments and institutions involved with skills development together in a single forum to discuss the National Skills Development Policy.

11. Fixing factories: workshop looks at remediation in the RMG sector

    16 October 2014 - 16 October 2016

    The collapse of Rana Plaza with the death of 1,136 garment workers in April 2013 resulted in the urgent need for Bangladesh’s approx. 3,500 Ready Made Garment factories to be checked for structural and fire safety.

12. First Competency Based Training for RMG Enterprise Trainers/Assessors held in Bangladesh

    13 - 18 September 2014

    Selected trainers and assessors working in the Ready Made Garment (RMG) industry learned how to introduce Competency Based Training to workers 13-18 September 2014.

13. Train the Trainers workshop for Senior Master Trainers on the Essentials of Occupational Safety and Health in Ready-Made Garment Sector

    11 August 2014

    Train the Trainers workshop for Senior Master Trainers aims to create better understanding of OSH among employers of Ready-Made Garment (RMG) Sector, mid and senior level management RMG factories, fire and safety instructors are attending a four day training programme on OSH.

14. Workshop on labour rights awareness in the leather sector

    21 July 2014

    Over 30 participants form the leather sector participated in a day long workshop aimed at designing education programme for the workers of the sector. The workshop was jointly organized by the Promoting Fundamental Rights and Labour Relations in Export Oriented Industries (FRLR) project of International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Tannery Workers Union.