Andreas Klemmer, Director of Training, ITCILO meets Faruque Hassan, President of BGMEA at his office on Saturday.
Neeran Ramjuthan, Programme Manager, Labour Administration and Working Conditions Cluster, ILO Bangladesh, and S M Borhan Uddin, Programme Officer, Governance, Social Dialogue and Industrial Relations (SDIR) Project ILO Country Office for Bangladesh were also present on the occasion.
Miran Ali, Vice President of BGMEA, and ANM Saifuddin, Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on ILO also attended the meeting.
They discussed various issues including the role of IRI (Industrial Relations Institute) as per BLA (Bangladesh Labour Law) and BLR (Bangladesh Labour Rules), in support of the capacity building of employers and workers’ representatives on issues related to industrial relations, the existing training package offered by IRI and its effectiveness.
Faruque Hassan, President of BGMEA thanked the ITC-ILO for their continuous support to Bangladesh’s RMG industry over the last few years, which has helped the industry to develop a harmonious industrial relation.
He also highlighted the apparel industry’s committed efforts in the area of worker’s rights, well-being and freedom of association. “We believe in dialogue and discussion, and the ILO-SDIR project has significantly contributed to creating a congenial environment for dialogues,” said Faruque Hassan.
ANM Saifuddin, Labour Affairs and ILO, briefed them about the effectiveness of the IRI and praised the initiative, also recommended making it more functional through tripartite collaboration between employers, workers, and government organizations.