We need a revitalised labour ministry
Bangladesh is once again free from the clutches of an authoritarian regime. If we do not hold onto the principles that allowed us to reach this point, and remain persistent in our resolve to remain here, a backsliding may occur. Our overpopulated nation, with its unemployed yet developable workforce is, at least on paper, on track to graduate to the status of a developing country by 2026. With the ambitious aspiration of becoming an upper-middle income nation by 2031, we are moving at top speed with a majorly faulty component.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment is tasked with ensuring the well-being of our nation's human capital. Unfortunately, this one unit of the government seems to be quite underutilised. Given the ongoing employment conditions and adherence to HR practices in Bangladesh compared to other progressive nations, there needs to be more emphasis on this ministry.
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Our prospective workforce includes young graduates who, despite the tenacity to improve, face an uphill battle in navigating the bumpy roads of job-searching. The ministry offers them little guidance or support. Skill development programmes, an often essential component in ensuring employability, are still quite inadequate. At large, we're still training for yesterday's jobs while the world races towards tomorrow.
Moreover, the ministry's supposed role as an enforcer of labour rights and sound corporate culture is riddled with questions. Dispute resolution mechanisms are rusted leaving maltreated workers oscillating between justice and despair. More concerningly, the aspect of unsafe working conditions in most sectors is growing ever-distressing, and that testifies to a lax enforcement regime.
To put it mildly, the current state of the Ministry of Labour and Employment is disheartening. It must be revitalised so that it can guide and aid a 21st century workforce. One of the most pressing challenges in today's job market is the skills mismatch. Many workers possess skills that hold no alignment with current industry needs, leading to underemployment. The ministry's pivotal role in creating a usable supply of competencies in demand must not be delayed any further. Active engagement of the ministry with vocational institutions as well as industry leaders can contribute significantly in developing targeted training programmes that arm workers with the right skillsets.
Workplace safety must draw paramount attention. Concerns linger about the comprehensiveness of current inspections of factories. The ministry could significantly resolve workers' protection issues by devising a more robust inspection system. This might require involvement of an increased number of inspectors, equipped with requisite tools, and establishment of firmer inspection protocols. Regular and thorough assessments are vital to ensure safe working conditions.
The ongoing backlog of unattended and unresolved workers' grievances has been creating increased frustrations among workers who seek justice. To this end, the authorities concerned should be proactive in implementing a well-accessible and more convenient grievance handling and conflict management system. Such an implementation of change should allow workers to submit complaints without trouble and receive satisfactorily justified solutions swiftly.
With uncompromisable adherence to transparency, insights pertaining to grievance resolution rates and progress made on outstanding cases should be regularly published to rebuild public trust in the ministry's commitment to workers' rights.
The ministry should extend its reach to incorporate the specific needs of white-collar, especially corporate, workers. Reviewing and amending the existing labour laws to ensure their applicability across all sectors are the need of the hour. The revision must include scrutinisation of regulations on overtime pay for salaried employees, clear guidelines on and adherence to termination procedures, and provisions for addressing workplace harassment and discrimination at all levels.
The good news is that the ministry doesn't need to reinvent the wheel to roll. Collaboration with established international labour organisations and ministries of human resources of other countries would be a valuable source of knowledge, guidance, and best practices. Sharing experiences and learning from successful strategies implemented in other countries to rework those resourceful insights in accordance with our domestic requirements can give the ministry the leverage to solve many problems with reliable solutions.
The ministry should also facilitate making the HR associations and federations in Bangladesh more useful. The ministry should provide support to these organisations so they are professionalised and become truly impactful, people-oriented, and strategically important arms of the nation's labour and employment system.
We want to see the Ministry of Labour and Employment foster remarkable improvements through innovation and proactive governance, where businesses learn from each other and collective action begets a success-ready as well as economically healthy labour market. Translating this dream into a fruitful reality requires much more than suggesting what requires to be acted upon. It is thus imperative for us all to play our parts, no matter how small, and create the platform to stand firmly for the enlightenment and economic sustainability we deserve. With a promising interim government, it is now the best opportunity to implement these much-needed changes.
Nafis Ehsas Chowdhury is a columnist and studies business at United International University (UIU).
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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