On 4 May the Norwegian government and the ILO Bangladesh Country Office (International Labour Organisation) signed an agreement to promote better working conditions in Bangladesh's export oriented industries. The agreement comes with a $2.5 million donation which is in addition to the $1bn worth of bilateral aid which the country receives annually from Norway.
Some of the major areas of the cooperation would be supporting continuous dialogue between workers, employers and the government and strengthening the tripartite partners’ capacity to support an ongoing ILO project on promoting fundamental principles and rights at work. The support will also assist in the future implementation of an ILO Better Work programme in Bangladesh.
According to the press statement from the ILO, the agreement was signed in the presence of the Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Government of Bangladesh Mr Mikail Shipar, representatives from the Bangladesh Employers Federation (BEF) and the National Coordination Committee for Workers’ Education (NCCWE).
This initiative is in addition to the Fire and Safety Accord signed by numerous of the retailers having apparel produced in Bangladesh.
Sources: bdnews24.com; ILO
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