14 April, 2026The ILO Roadmap was established in 2021 because Bangladesh had serious, documented failures on freedom of association, labour inspection, anti-union discrimination and labour law reform. Years on, trade unions are clear: progress on paper has not translated into meaningful change for workers.
These findings are drawn from the ILO’s roadmap report on the 18-point demands, published in March 2026, covering the period from March 2025 to March 2026, and covering all sectors. The report tracks progress against commitments made by the Bangladeshi government and social partners and exposes where implementation has fallen short. Notably, the minimum wage agreement, a key demand under the 18-point framework, is due for conclusion this year. Negotiations have yet to begin.
In 2025 Bangladesh took notable steps ratifying three ILO Conventions – C155 on Occupational Safety and Health, C187 on the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health and C190 on Violence and Harassment – becoming the first in South Asia to do so. For workers who have spent years fighting for recognition, these are hard-won gains.
But ratification is not protection. And for the millions of workers in Bangladesh’s garment factories, export processing zones and beyond, the gap between what the law says and what actually happens on the factory floor remains vast.
The legal limit for union registration is 55 days. Many applications take far longer — in some cases, up to two years. A concern IndustriALL affiliates have raised repeatedly across multiple ILO Governing Body reporting cycles, the “Nothijat” filing system leaves applications suspended in bureaucratic limbo, with no resolution in sight. Workers who try to organize don’t just face delays. They face dismissal, harassment and intimidation.
Of 42 reported cases of anti-union discrimination and unfair labour practices, authorities acted on only eleven. Employers, meanwhile, are allegedly actively promoting yellow unions, company-friendly bodies designed to crowd out genuine worker representation.
The ready-made garment sector is Bangladesh’s largest export industry, employing millions of workers. However, the report underscores the need to strengthen collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) at the workplace level, which remain very limited in number. The government’s 18-point tripartite agreement, signed in September 2024 and heralded as a major achievement, was already raising concern among affiliates about uneven implementation across industrial areas. These figures suggest those concerns were well founded.
Ratification without protection
Workplace safety figures tell a similar story. IndustriALL previously raised serious doubts about the credibility of the government’s inspection statistics, questioning whether 441 inspectors could meaningfully conduct the 85 daily inspections the government claimed. The numbers now bear that out: 1,190 workers were killed in workplace accidents in 2025, up from 905 the year before. Despite reforms, safety protections remain dangerously insufficient.
Workers in export processing zones continue to be denied the right to form independent trade unions altogether, restricted instead to Workers’ Welfare Associations that fall short of international standards. Reform of the EPZ framework has been slow and insufficient.
IndustriALL affiliates have consistently called for their recommendations to be taken seriously throughout this process.
The Labour (Amendment) Act, 2026 marks a step forward, particularly for workers in high-risk sectors, including RMG and shipbreaking. The introduction of employment injury schemes to strengthen compensation and social protection and establishes the legal right to refuse unsafe or hazardous work, a significant gain for workers in high-risk sectors including ready-made garment and shipbreaking. These concrete measures, alongside improvements in labour inspection and social dialogue, signal progress towards safer and more accountable workplaces. Continued efforts to ensure effective implementation and strengthen social dialogue will further support these positive developments in practice. IndustriALL and its affiliates are committed to working alongside the government to support these efforts.
Atle Høie, general secretary of IndustriALL, says:
“The new Bangladeshi government has just passed a strong labour code and we have hopes that this indicates a change in values towards workers. But legislative reform alone is not enough. What workers need now is full and effective implementation in practice, backed by stronger enforcement, greater accountability, and real protection against anti-union retaliation. Without these concrete actions, the objectives of the roadmap will remain unfulfilled.”