Monitoring and Assessing Progress on Decent Work in Bangladesh

ILO Office in Bangladesh (ILO-DHAKA)ILO/EC Project “<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent Work” (MAP)<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong><strong>Progress</strong> on Decent Workin BangladeshNational Background StudyAbdul Hye MondalThis document has been produced with the financialassistance of the European Union. The views expressedherein can in no way be taken to reflect the officialopinion of the European Union.

ILO OFFICE IN BANGLADESH (ILO-DHAKA)ILO/EC PROJECT “MONITORING AND ASSESSING PROGRESS ON DECENT WORK” (MAP)National Background Study<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong><strong>Progress</strong> on Decent Work in BangladeshAbdul Hye MondalThis document has been prepared by the International Labour Officewith funding from the European Union under the ILO/EC Project“<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent Work” (MAP).International Labour OfficeDhaka <strong>and</strong> GenevaJune 2010

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ContentsPage1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 11.1 The ILO/EC Project for <strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent Work .................. 11.2 National background studies ................................................................................................ 22. An overview of the Decent Work Country Programme ................................................................. 22.1. Background of the Decent Work Country Programme ........................................................ 22.2. Country context in which the DWCP was designed ............................................................ 22.3. Country programme priorities with associated outcomes, indicators <strong>and</strong> targets ................ 42.4. Indications on the degree of advancement of the implementation of the programme ......... 53. Technical cooperation projects related to decent work ................................................................ 103.1. ILO technical cooperation projects .................................................................................... 103.2. Projects funded by the European Commission .................................................................. 103.3. Other technical cooperation projects ................................................................................. 104. Existing data sources <strong>and</strong> Decent Work Indicators ...................................................................... 185. Synopsis <strong>and</strong> conclusion .............................................................................................................. 275.1. Key issues related to data <strong>and</strong> information gaps related to decent work ........................... 365.2. Priorities for action on data <strong>and</strong> information gaps related to decent work ........................ 40Annex I. Presentation of labour force survey ......................................................................................... 42Annex II. Presentation of key establishment survey .............................................................................. 47Annex III.Presentation of key administrative database .......................................................................... 51References .............................................................................................................................................. 53iii

Tables <strong>and</strong> figuresTable 1. Overview of the Decent Work Country Programme <strong>and</strong> linkages to the Decent WorkAgenda ........................................................................................................................................ 6Table 2. Overview of technical cooperation projects <strong>and</strong> linkages to the Decent Work Agenda .......... 11Table 3. Existing data sources with relevance to the Decent Work Agenda.......................................... 18Table 4. List of statistical indicators for monitoring <strong>and</strong> assessing progress on decent work ............... 20Table 5. Indicators of decent work in existing sources of data .............................................................. 23Table 6. Synopsis of Decent Work Country Programme, ongoing technical cooperation projects,legal indicators <strong>and</strong> available statistical Decent Work Indicators ........................................... 29Table 7. Current gaps in statistics on Decent Work Indicators <strong>and</strong> priorities for future datacollection .................................................................................................................................. 33Pageiv

List of acronyms <strong>and</strong> abbreviationsADBBBSBEFBMETBTEBCBTCHTCLMUDFIDDIFEDOLDSSDTEDWCPDWIECFDIGDPHIESILOISSBLFSMAPMDGsMESMOLENCCWEOSHPRSPQWRSRMGSAARCSMEsTBPTCPsTVETUNUNDAFUNICEFUSAIDUS$WFCLAsian Development BankBangladesh Bureau of StatisticsBangladesh Employers’ FederationBureau of Manpower, Employment <strong>and</strong> TrainingBangladesh Technical Education BoardCommunity-based TrainingChittagong Hill TractsChild Labour <strong>Monitoring</strong> UnitUnited Kingdom Department for International DevelopmentDepartment of Inspection for Factories <strong>and</strong> EstablishmentsDepartment of LabourDepartment of Social ServicesDirectorate of Technical EducationDecent Work Country ProgrammeDecent Work IndicatorEuropean CommissionForeign Direct InvestmentGross Domestic ProductHousehold Income <strong>and</strong> Expenditure SurveyInternational Labour OrganizationInformal Sector Survey of BangladeshLabour Force Survey<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent Work ProjectMillennium Development Goals<strong>Monitoring</strong> of Employment SurveyMinistry of Labour <strong>and</strong> EmploymentNational Coordination Committee for Workers EducationOccupational Safety <strong>and</strong> HealthPoverty Reduction Strategy PaperQuarterly Wage Rate SurveyReady-made garmentSouth Asian Association for Regional CooperationSmall <strong>and</strong> Medium-sized EnterprisesTime Bound ProgrammeTechnical Cooperation ProjectsTechnical <strong>and</strong> Vocational Education <strong>and</strong> TrainingUnited NationsUnited Nations Development Assistance FrameworkUnited Nations Children’s FundUnited States Agency for International DevelopmentUnited States DollarWorst Forms of Child Labourv

1. IntroductionLabour statistics <strong>and</strong> data play an essential role in the efforts of a country in achievingdecent work for all. Statistics <strong>and</strong> supporting databases are needed for the development <strong>and</strong>evaluation of effective policies <strong>and</strong> to assess progress towards the goal of achieving decentwork for all. The International Labour Organization (ILO) supports member States in thecollection <strong>and</strong> dissemination of reliable, up-to-date, gender- <strong>and</strong> age-disaggregated labourmarket statistics based on international st<strong>and</strong>ards <strong>and</strong> definitions.The present background study is an outcome of exploratory research mainly consisting ofobtaining <strong>and</strong> analyzing information necessary for monitoring <strong>and</strong> assessing progress ondecent work in Bangladesh <strong>and</strong> presenting them in the pre-designed structure described inthe guidelines provided by the ILO. This study is essentially based on the secondary data<strong>and</strong> information available in the ILO documents, publications of the Bangladesh Bureau ofStatistics (BBS) <strong>and</strong> other publications of the Government of Bangladesh. In addition, itdraws upon the brief consultations on national priorities <strong>and</strong> project implementationrelating to decent work with the Ministry of Labour <strong>and</strong> Employment (MOLE),Department of Labour (DOL), Department of Inspection for Factories <strong>and</strong> Establishments(DIFE), Bureau of Manpower, Employment <strong>and</strong> Training (BMET), Directorate ofTechnical Education (DTE), Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB), BangladeshBureau of Statistics (BBS), the Planning Commission, Bangladesh Employers’ Federation(BEF) <strong>and</strong> National Coordination Committee for Workers Education (NCCWE).1.1 The ILO/EC Project for <strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong><strong>Progress</strong> on Decent Work<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> assessing progress towards decent work at the country-level is a longst<strong>and</strong>ingconcern for the ILO <strong>and</strong> its constituents. Against this background, the 2008Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization details that member States mayconsider “the establishment of appropriate indicators or statistics, if necessary with theassistance of the ILO, to monitor <strong>and</strong> evaluate the progress made” (Paragraph II.B.ii.). Inthe past, countries have repeatedly called for ILO technical cooperation to support theirefforts in this regard.With funding from the European Union, the “<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> onDecent Work (MAP)” project will help to address this need. Over a period of four years(2009 to 2012), the project will work with government agencies (including Ministries ofLabour <strong>and</strong> National Statistical Offices), workers’ <strong>and</strong> employers’ organizations <strong>and</strong>research institutions to strengthen the capacity of developing <strong>and</strong> transition countries toself-monitor <strong>and</strong> self-assess progress towards decent work.The project will facilitate the identification of Decent Work Indicators that are relevant atthe national level (within the framework discussed at the Tripartite Meeting of Experts onthe Measurement of Decent Work held in September 2008); support data collection; <strong>and</strong>use the collected data for an integrated policy analysis of decent work in order to makethem relevant for policy making. Project activities include: the preparation of backgroundcountry studies; national consultation workshops to identify Decent Work Indicators;regional workshops on Decent Work Indicators; support to national statistical offices orother relevant institutions; the preparation of in-depth country studies on decent work;national meetings of researchers <strong>and</strong> policy makers to disseminate the results of countrystudies; training <strong>and</strong> knowledge-sharing workshops; <strong>and</strong> the production of a manual on the“global methodology to self-monitor <strong>and</strong> self-assess progress towards decent work”.1

The project covers ten countries in all major regions, including two countries in Africa(Niger <strong>and</strong> Zambia), four in Asia (including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia <strong>and</strong> anadditional country), two in Europe (Ukraine <strong>and</strong> another country) <strong>and</strong> two in LatinAmerica (Brazil <strong>and</strong> Peru). The present exercise is a background study on Bangladesh.1.2 National background studiesThe present background study is the starting point for further activities in Bangladeshunder the MAP project. It aims to present an overview of all existing programmes,activities, <strong>and</strong> data collection exercises related to decent work in Bangladesh. The resultswere presented during a national consultation workshop in April 2010 where the ILO’stripartite constituents identified priorities for data collection needs to monitor <strong>and</strong> assessprogress on decent work in Bangladesh, <strong>and</strong> discuss a strategy for addressing these needswithin the context of its national statistical programmes, supported by the MAP project.2. An overview of the Decent Work CountryProgramme2.1. Background of the Decent Work CountryProgrammeThe Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) in Bangladesh covers the 2006-2009period. The main stakeholders involved include MOLE, DOL, DIFE, Ministry ofExpatriates Welfare <strong>and</strong> Overseas Employment, BMET, BEF, NCCWE representing tradeunions, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Government of theNetherl<strong>and</strong>s, other donors, non-governmental organizations, the civil society <strong>and</strong> the ILO.The onus of implementation <strong>and</strong> management of the DWCP, however, lies with all thetripartite constituents (the MOLE <strong>and</strong> the employers’ <strong>and</strong> workers’ organizations), inaddition to non-governmental organizations <strong>and</strong> the civil society. In managing the DWCP,the ILO works in partnership with other United Nations (UN) agencies under a commondevelopment framework. Some of the activities in the DWCP are carried out jointly withother agencies, <strong>and</strong> in Bangladesh substantial partnerships are maintained with other UNorganizations.2.2. Country context in which the DWCP wasdesignedThe country context in which the DWCP was designed may be described as follows.Despite considerable progress in the macroeconomic environment <strong>and</strong> a welcominginvestment climate in Bangladesh, economic growth remained narrowly based <strong>and</strong> povertyrates remained very high, with about 50 per cent of the population living below the povertyline, including 25 per cent in extreme poverty. Extensive poverty persisted due toinsufficient opportunities for productive employment <strong>and</strong> the limited access to productiveresources including l<strong>and</strong>, markets, social services, <strong>and</strong> appropriate skills development.About 80 per cent of employment in Bangladesh was in the informal economy, largelycomposed of workers in agriculture, small <strong>and</strong> micro enterprises <strong>and</strong> transport. The formalsector, mostly the ready-made garment (RMG) industry, was the main engine of growth,with RMG accounting for 76 per cent of Bangladesh’s exports <strong>and</strong> employing some 2.1million persons, around 85 per cent of whom were women.Bangladesh saw a steady rise in its annual growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP)during 2001-2006 together with a fall in population growth leading to a rapid rise in GDP2

per capita. This trend was accompanied by an impressive decline in non-income poverty<strong>and</strong> modest decline in income poverty. But at the same time, the country saw the richbecoming richer <strong>and</strong> the poor becoming poorer due to various structural weaknesses of theeconomy. The income of half of the people had decreased by the end of the period, whilethe income of people at the middle 30 per cent marked moderate increases <strong>and</strong> the top 20per cent made sharp increases.Most fronts of the economy enjoyed stability for most of the last five years. But as theinflation could not be checked, people could not reap the benefits of the macroeconomicstability. Development activities of the country did not take place on the basis of nationalpriorities or plans.No significant rise in the foreign direct investment (FDI) from 2001 to 2006, except in2005, was evident. The annual FDI growth rate during 2002 to 2005 was on average 28 percent. The FDI growth during 2002-2006 was 1 percentage point lower than during 1996-2001. A lot of opportunities to increase the FDI <strong>and</strong> create new employment could not beseized.The annual GDP growth rate during 2001-2006 on average increased to 5.7 per centcompared to 5.3 per cent during 1996-2001. But more significantly, the growth rate in thelast three years exceeded 6 per cent. Consequently, it contributed broadly to povertyreduction by 1.8 per cent per year on average during the last five years compared to 1 percent in the previous decade. But at the same time, social disparity continued increasing inthe last five years, while the income level of the poor had decreased (BBS, 2007a). Despitehigher rate of GDP growth, employment grew at a relatively slower rate of 1.6 per cent perannum implying a largely jobless growth for the economy. With the labour force growingfaster than employment potential, the unemployment rate increased over the 1990s <strong>and</strong>early 2000s.Again, high inflation overshadowed the benefits of poverty reduction. During 1996-2001,inflation was largely in control, though the 1998 flood had pushed it up to 8.7 per cent <strong>and</strong>kept it at a high of 7.1 per cent in 1999. But the inflation rate was brought down to 2.8 percent in 2000 <strong>and</strong> 1.9 per cent in 2001. But the inflation during 2002-2006 marked a steadyrise from 2.8 per cent in 2002 to over 7 per cent in 2006.Although the economy maintained an overall stability, the annual budget deficit hoveredbelow a tolerable 4 per cent, while revenue collection increased more than that achievedduring the previous period. During 2001-2006, revenue collection grew at 13.9 per centannually compared to 8.9 per cent during 1996-2001. But it left much to be desired in thearea of the tax-GDP ratio. The international st<strong>and</strong>ard for the tax-GDP ratio is a minimumof 15 per cent; while, in Bangladesh, this hovered at 9 per cent during 1996-2001 <strong>and</strong>reached 10.8 per cent during 2002-2006.The national Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper-I (PRSP-I) was the cornerstone of theGovernment’s national development framework for meeting the Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs) by 2015 <strong>and</strong> SAARC Development Goals by 2010. The Three-YearRolling Investment Programme attempted to make the poverty reduction strategies <strong>and</strong> theMDGs operational for the period of the fiscal year 2005 to the fiscal year 2007. Themedium-term macroeconomic framework included in the PRSP-I set out a coherent macroframework which brought consistency among savings, investment, external <strong>and</strong> monetarybalances.The PRSP-I of Bangladesh outlined a comprehensive medium-term strategy in amacroeconomic environment for implementing pro-poor growth, effective safety-netprogrammes <strong>and</strong> human development. The strategy had been made broad-based <strong>and</strong>operational by emphasizing social inclusion <strong>and</strong> empowerment, promoting goodgovernance, highlighting better service-delivery practices <strong>and</strong> increasing care for the3

environment <strong>and</strong> sustainable development. The ILO provided substantial inputs to thePRSP with a focus on its Decent Work Agenda.The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for 2006-2010, inwhich the ILO is involved through the UN team, set out the commitment by all UNagencies working in Bangladesh to support the Government in implementing the PRSP,<strong>and</strong> in moving towards achieving the MDGs. The UNDAF is built on a joint analysis ofdevelopment issues made by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) <strong>and</strong>United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) <strong>and</strong> on an assessmentof gender issues in the country. The UNDAF for 2006-2010 has identified the followingpriorities:1. Democratic Governance <strong>and</strong> Human Rights2. Health, Nutrition <strong>and</strong> Sustainable Population3. Education <strong>and</strong> Pro-Poor Growth4. Social Protection <strong>and</strong> Disaster Risk Reduction5. Gender Equity <strong>and</strong> Advancement of Women6. Prevention <strong>and</strong> Protection against HIV/AIDS2.3. Country programme priorities with associatedoutcomes, indicators <strong>and</strong> targetsThe Bangladesh DWCP, at every stage of planning <strong>and</strong> development, evolved through aconsultative process. The Decent Work Advisory Body of the Decent Work PilotProgramme, constituted with equal representation from the Government, employers’ <strong>and</strong>workers’ organizations, was the forum where the DWCP was discussed <strong>and</strong> activities <strong>and</strong>priorities identified for the country.Thus, based on the work done by the Decent Work Pilot Programme, the BangladeshDWCP for 2006-2009 includes three priorities with corresponding outcomes as presentedin Table 1. The three priorities include: (i) promotion of decent <strong>and</strong> productiveemployment, (ii) promotion of fundamental principles <strong>and</strong> rights at work includingprogressive elimination of worst forms of child labour (WFCL), <strong>and</strong> (iii) capacity buildingof the ILO constituents. These priorities constitute the key building blocks for achievingdecent work in the country over time.Priority-1 has five components: (1) skills training programme to better prepare workers,especially young women <strong>and</strong> men, through improved, efficient <strong>and</strong> effective vocationaltraining system <strong>and</strong> community-based training (CBT) methodology for decentemployment; (2) adoption of employment-friendly policies <strong>and</strong> programmes <strong>and</strong> socialprotection schemes for selected vulnerable groups, namely informal economy workers,tribal population, <strong>and</strong> disaster-affected workers; (3) improvement of workers’ rightsincluding occupational safety <strong>and</strong> health (OSH) in the RMG, ship-recycling <strong>and</strong> othersectors <strong>and</strong> increase in workplace productivity; (4) sectoral governance improved throughre-designing relevant labour legislation as needed, improving labour law enforcement, <strong>and</strong>developing social dialogue among concerned stakeholders; <strong>and</strong> (5) more effectiveregulatory <strong>and</strong> welfare regime to promote orderly <strong>and</strong> effective labour migration.Priority-2 has two components: (1) adoption of a national plan of action on WFCL; <strong>and</strong> (2)national programme taken up for implementation to eliminate gender-based inequitieshaving wide-ranging implications, especially in the informal economy.Priority-3 has only one component, namely, enhanced capacity of tripartite partners topromote productive <strong>and</strong> decent employment. All these components of the DWCP call forstrengthening the collection, production <strong>and</strong> analysis of statistics <strong>and</strong> data indicatorsrelated to decent work. Encouragingly, establishing the Child Labour <strong>Monitoring</strong> Unit4

(CLMU) <strong>and</strong> making it operational within MLE to give regular information on child labourissues is a step forward in this direction.2.4. Indications on the degree of advancement of theimplementation of the programmeAccording to the DWCP review (Dunn <strong>and</strong> Mondal, 2009), Improved Skills Training forEnhanced Employability <strong>and</strong> Livelihoods (under Priority 1, Outcome 1) was unique infollowing a holistic approach in widening participants’ occupational choices <strong>and</strong> helpingthem to establish linkages. The pilot project was successful in raising awareness of theimportance of decentralized, flexible, dem<strong>and</strong>-responsive skills development involvingmultiple partners. One clear shortcoming is that mechanisms were not in place to sustainthe project’s momentum after its completion. As a result, the new Technical <strong>and</strong>Vocational Education <strong>and</strong> Training (TVET) Reform Project (2008-2012) which isunderway cannot benefit from the local relationships built under the community-basedpilot. The fellowships appear to have generated knowledge, enthusiasm, <strong>and</strong> ownershipamong national partners. Mechanisms, however, are not in place to ensure that decentwork principles are followed.Concerning Improved Coverage of Social Protection <strong>and</strong> Rights for Workers in SelectedSectors, Including for Migrants (under Priority 1, Outcome 2), the project may have raisedawareness among workers <strong>and</strong> other stakeholders <strong>and</strong> broadened the dialogue on shiprecycling policy to some extent, but the project was unsuccessful in achieving itsobjectives. ILO’s investment <strong>and</strong> impact on HIV/AIDS in the workplace look very small.In 2009, ILO invested about US$ 60,000 for the prevention of HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh.Around US$ 10,000 was used for the sensitization of 300-400 female migrant workers.Around US$ 50,000 was spent for the preparation of training manuals for the prevention ofHIV/AIDS, basic training on HIV/AIDS for 400 trade union leaders at the enterprise levelby BEF <strong>and</strong> the formation of the Tripartite Committee on HIV/AIDS, among others.With respect to National Time Bound Programme (TBP) on Worst Forms of Child LabourImplemented (under Priority 2, Outcome 1), the DWCP was successful in exp<strong>and</strong>ing theknowledge base on WFCL through the preparation <strong>and</strong> dissemination of a series ofresearch studies, a baseline survey for determining hazardous child labour sectors, <strong>and</strong> abaseline survey on child domestic labour. However, the project was not able to generatethe political commitment needed to ensure a reasonable pace of progress toward thefulfilment of the TBP objectives. However, it made good progress on only one of itsimmediate objectives: developing the knowledge base on child labour in the urbaninformal economy.Regarding Enhanced Capacities of Tripartite Partners <strong>and</strong> Mainstreaming of Decent WorkPrinciples into Programmes <strong>and</strong> Plans of Partners, including the UN (under Priority 3,Outcome 1), the projects may have enhanced the competence of some trade unionrepresentatives in organizing workers in the informal economy. Also, they may haveenabled a small number of workers in the informal economy to act collectively toward therealization of decent work providing a replicable model for organizing workers in theinformal economy. Their overall impact is likely to be small given the low number ofworkers involved. The programmes related to social dialogue brought strong responseswith important perspectives <strong>and</strong> information <strong>and</strong> could contribute to improved socialdialogue if continued <strong>and</strong> exp<strong>and</strong>ed in a political environment favourable to tripartiteinteraction. The study tours <strong>and</strong> fellowships contributed moderately to the capacitybuilding of the ILO constituents. Workers’ representatives, who need capacity building themost, were unfortunately the least represented of the constituents in the programme.5

Table 1.Overview of the Decent Work Country Programme <strong>and</strong> linkages to the Decent Work AgendaPriority #Outcome Outcome Indicator TargetP1 Promotion of decent <strong>and</strong> productive employment1. Skills trainingprogramme to betterprepare workers,especially young women<strong>and</strong> men, throughimproved, efficient <strong>and</strong>effective vocationaltraining system <strong>and</strong> CBTmethodology for decentemployment.2. Adoption of employment-friendlypolicies<strong>and</strong> programmes <strong>and</strong>social protectionschemes for selectedvulnerable groups viz.informal economy workers,tribal population, <strong>and</strong>disaster-affectedI.1 In-depth studies carried out on variousaspects of national vocationaltraining system; practical measuresimplemented for linking skill training toproductive jobs; recommended plans ofaction adopted <strong>and</strong> disseminated at anational tripartite meeting <strong>and</strong> amongpolicy planners.I.2 TVET policy <strong>and</strong> mechanisms for itsimplementation drafted.I.3 Recommended action plans,qualitative <strong>and</strong> quantitative, implementedfor improving the nationaltraining system impacting both onformal <strong>and</strong> informal sectors.1.4 Bangla manual on CBTmethodology disseminated <strong>and</strong> used byservice providers.I.1 A study on social protectionschemes for selected vulnerable groupscompleted.I.2 Findings of the above study disseminated<strong>and</strong> recommendationsadopted for implementation by nationalauthorities.I.3 300 beneficiaries receive training ondisaster preparedness including healthN/AN/AStrategic objective of theDecent Work AgendaFundamental principles <strong>and</strong>rights at workEmploymentSocial protectionSocial dialogue <strong>and</strong> tripartismSubstantive element of the Decent Work Agenda under the framework for<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent WorkEmploymentopportunitiesAdequate earnings <strong>and</strong>productive workx x xDecent hoursCombining work, family <strong>and</strong>personal lifeWork to be abolishedStability <strong>and</strong> security of workx x x xEqual opportunities <strong>and</strong>treatment in employmentSafe work environmentSocial securitySocial dialogue, workers &employers’ representationEconomic <strong>and</strong> social contextfor decent workImprovement of data collection<strong>and</strong> statistics6

Priority #Outcome Outcome Indicator Targetworkers.3. Improvement of workers’rights including OSHin the RMG, shiprecycling<strong>and</strong> othersectors <strong>and</strong> increase inworkplace productivity.4. Sectoral governanceimproved through redesigningrelevant labourlegislation as needed,<strong>and</strong> hygiene practices to meet thechallenges of the natural calamities.I.4 300 indigenous people in ChittagongHill Tracts (CHT) receive training ongainful employment, micro-enterprises,product development <strong>and</strong> marketing.I.1 Training manual of OSH acceptedby the authorities in conducting trainingsessions for the ship breaking workers.I.2 Workers welfare <strong>and</strong> working conditionin the ship recycling communities<strong>and</strong> enterprises improved.I.3.50 mid-level managers <strong>and</strong> workerswho received training on formation <strong>and</strong>functioning of the participation committeein the RMG sector are able to applytheir knowledge in their respectiveenterprises.I.4 25 training cells established in theship breaking yards are functioning.I.5 Knowledge of mid-level managers<strong>and</strong> workers trained by ILO on OSHenhanced.I.6. National Policy on OSH drafted <strong>and</strong>disseminated for adoption by thenational authorities.I.1 Bangladesh Labour Law 2006reviewed in respect of InternationalLabour St<strong>and</strong>ards <strong>and</strong> reportdisseminated.N/AN/AStrategic objective of theDecent Work AgendaFundamental principles <strong>and</strong>rights at workEmploymentSocial protectionSocial dialogue <strong>and</strong> tripartismSubstantive element of the Decent Work Agenda under the framework for<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent WorkEmploymentopportunitiesAdequate earnings <strong>and</strong>productive workDecent hoursCombining work, family <strong>and</strong>personal lifeWork to be abolishedStability <strong>and</strong> security of workEqual opportunities <strong>and</strong>treatment in employmentx x xx x x xSafe work environmentSocial securitySocial dialogue, workers &employers’ representationEconomic <strong>and</strong> social contextfor decent workImprovement of data collection<strong>and</strong> statistics7

Priority #P2Outcome Outcome Indicator Targetimproving labour lawenforcement, <strong>and</strong>developing socialdialogue amongconcerned stakeholders.5. More effectiveregulatory <strong>and</strong> welfareregime to promoteorderly <strong>and</strong> effectivelabour migration.I.2 Proposal for amendment of the relevantlabour laws submitted to theauthorities for their acceptance.I.3 Social dialogue held among relevantstakeholders on arriving at consensusto implement the changes in relevantlaws.I.1 Studies on policies <strong>and</strong> programmeson labour migration that promoteorderly <strong>and</strong> effective labour migrationcompleted, disseminated <strong>and</strong> recommendationsadopted for implementationby national authorities.I.2 A more effective regulatory <strong>and</strong>welfare regime installed to ensure orderly<strong>and</strong> effective labour migration.Promotion of fundamental principles <strong>and</strong> rights at workincluding progressive elimination of WFCL1. Adoption of nationalplan of action on WFCL.I.1 Time Bound Programme for theelimination of WFCL adopted <strong>and</strong> implemented.I.2 Capacity of key national <strong>and</strong> localinstitutions enhanced for undertakingprogrammes for elimination of WFCL inselected sectors.I.3 Child Labour <strong>Monitoring</strong> Unit(CLMU) established <strong>and</strong> operationalizedgiving regular information on childlabour issues.N/AStrategic objective of theDecent Work AgendaFundamental principles <strong>and</strong>rights at workEmploymentSocial protectionSocial dialogue <strong>and</strong> tripartismSubstantive element of the Decent Work Agenda under the framework for<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent WorkEmploymentopportunitiesAdequate earnings <strong>and</strong>productive workDecent hoursCombining work, family <strong>and</strong>personal lifeWork to be abolishedStability <strong>and</strong> security of workEqual opportunities <strong>and</strong>treatment in employmentx x xSafe work environmentSocial securitySocial dialogue, workers &employers’ representationEconomic <strong>and</strong> social contextfor decent workImprovement of data collection<strong>and</strong> statisticsx x x2. National programme I.1 Study undertaken to identify the x x8

Priority #Outcome Outcome Indicator Targettaken up for implementationto eliminategender-based inequitieshaving wide-rangingimplications especially inthe informal economy.P3 Capacity building of the constituents1. Enhanced capacity oftripartite partners topromote productive <strong>and</strong>decent employment.Source: Author’s compilation.potential areas of interventions <strong>and</strong>suggested action programme.I.2 Programmes to eliminate genderbasedinequities especially in the informalsector developed <strong>and</strong> taken up forimplementation in priority areas.I.1 Study report on women’s participationin the trade unions disseminated.I.2 At least five tripartite workshopsorganized on working conditions <strong>and</strong>labour st<strong>and</strong>ards for promoting decentwork.I.3 Bengali version of ILO training manualon “Trade Union Organization <strong>and</strong>Leadership Development” prepared <strong>and</strong>used in trade union leadership developmentprogrammes.I.4 14 second level (youth) trade unionleaders trained on trade union organization<strong>and</strong> leadership development.I.5 Training manuals in Bengali developedon Bangladesh Labour Law 2006.I.6 Occupational safety manual developed<strong>and</strong> 150 workers trained onaccidents <strong>and</strong> diseases caused byoccupational hazards.N/AStrategic objective of theDecent Work AgendaFundamental principles <strong>and</strong>rights at workEmploymentSocial protectionSocial dialogue <strong>and</strong> tripartismSubstantive element of the Decent Work Agenda under the framework for<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent WorkEmploymentopportunitiesAdequate earnings <strong>and</strong>productive workDecent hoursCombining work, family <strong>and</strong>personal lifeWork to be abolishedStability <strong>and</strong> security of workEqual opportunities <strong>and</strong>treatment in employmentx x x x xSafe work environmentSocial securitySocial dialogue, workers &employers’ representationEconomic <strong>and</strong> social contextfor decent workImprovement of data collection<strong>and</strong> statistics9

3. Technical cooperation projects related todecent workThis section gives on overview of technical cooperation projects related to decent work inBangladesh.3.1. ILO technical cooperation projectsThe main features of the completed <strong>and</strong> ongoing ILO technical cooperation projects(TCPs), including project name, amount <strong>and</strong> source of funding, start <strong>and</strong> end dates, <strong>and</strong>project objectives, in Bangladesh are presented in Table 2. Most of the projects focus onelimination of child labour, especially hazardous child labour. Fewer projects are targetedtowards improving skills <strong>and</strong> employment opportunities. These projects could provideinput in terms of ex ante <strong>and</strong> ex post evaluation of the projects <strong>and</strong> disseminatinginformation on the extent of actual achievements compared to the objectives <strong>and</strong> targets<strong>and</strong> drawing upon the lessons learned in the project implementation. More importantly,these projects could provide inputs related to improvement of statistics <strong>and</strong> other datacollection linked to decent work. Also, these projects would benefit from the new DecentWork Indicators in terms of applying them in setting their objectives <strong>and</strong> targets <strong>and</strong>developing supporting indicators.3.2. Projects funded by the European CommissionMain features of EC-funded projects (project name, amount <strong>and</strong> source of funding, start<strong>and</strong> end dates, <strong>and</strong> objectives) that were implemented <strong>and</strong> are ongoing in the country arealso presented in Table 2. These projects focus primarily on the prevention of trafficking ofwomen <strong>and</strong> children <strong>and</strong> have potential relevance to the Decent Work Agenda as it relatesto work which must be abolished. These projects could provide input in terms of creating<strong>and</strong> dissemination information relating to the annual volume of trafficked women <strong>and</strong>children <strong>and</strong> the extent of achievements of these projects. These projects could takeadvantage of the new Decent Work Indicators in regard to using them to set objectives,targets <strong>and</strong> progress indicators.3.3. Other technical cooperation projectsAmong other TCPs directly related to decent work, only a few are listed in Table 2. Someof them, however, seem to be relevant to the economic <strong>and</strong> social context of decent work.These TCPs can well be related to improvement of statistics <strong>and</strong> other data collectionlinked to decent work, particularly the ADB Regional Technical Assistance: Measuring theInformal Sector.10

Table 2.Overview of technical cooperation projects <strong>and</strong> linkages to the Decent Work AgendaTechnical cooperation projectsProject name <strong>and</strong>project objectivesAmount <strong>and</strong>funding agencyRelevant ILO TC projectsTC1 ILO project on labour relations US$ 177,381SOCIALPARTNER - EAProject datesBGD/01/01/BGDObjective 1: Improving Labour Relations <strong>and</strong> Working Conditions inBangladesh Garment IndustryTC2 ILO project on labour relations US$ 1,279,623United StatesTC3TC4TC52001-2006Objective 1: Improving Labour Relations <strong>and</strong> Working Conditions in theBangladesh Garment IndustryILO project on employment<strong>and</strong> skillsUS$ 62,988UNDP2007Objective 1: Multi-agency mission for Chittagong Hill Tracts for improvingemployment <strong>and</strong> skillsILO project on employment<strong>and</strong> skillsUS$ 1,326,029UNDP2003-2006Strategic objective of theDecent Work AgendaFundamental principles <strong>and</strong>rights at workEmploymentSocial protectionSocial dialogue <strong>and</strong> tripartismSubstantive element of the Decent Work Agenda under the framework for<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent WorkEmployment opportunitiesAdequate earnings <strong>and</strong>productive workDecent hoursCombining work, family <strong>and</strong>personal lifeWork to be abolishedStability <strong>and</strong> security of workEqual opportunity <strong>and</strong>treatment in employmentx x x x xx x x x xx x xObjective 1: Improving skills training <strong>and</strong> employment promotion x x xILO project on employment<strong>and</strong> skillsUS$ 2,591,062European Union2008-2012Objective 1: Technical <strong>and</strong> Vocational Education <strong>and</strong> Training (TVET) Reformin BangladeshTC6 ILO project on safe work US$ 799,968UNDP2004-2007x x xSafe work environmentSocial securitySocial dialogue, workers <strong>and</strong>employers’ representationEconomic <strong>and</strong> social contextfor decent workImprovement of data collection<strong>and</strong> statistical indicators11

Technical cooperation projectsTC7TC8TC9TC10TC11TC12Project name <strong>and</strong>project objectivesAmount <strong>and</strong>funding agencyProject datesStrategic objective of theDecent Work AgendaFundamental principles <strong>and</strong>rights at workEmploymentSocial protectionSocial dialogue <strong>and</strong> tripartismSubstantive element of the Decent Work Agenda under the framework for<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent WorkObjective 1: Safe <strong>and</strong> environment-friendly ship recycling x xILO project on womenempowermentUS$ 2,665,177United States2002-2006Objective 1: Women's Empowerment through Employment <strong>and</strong> Health (WEEH) x x xILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 1,001,570Netherl<strong>and</strong>s2004-2007Objective 1: Prevention <strong>and</strong> Elimination of Selected Worst Forms of ChildLabour in the Informal Economy of Dhaka City - Bridging PhaseILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 4,800,502Netherl<strong>and</strong>s2001-2006Objective 1: A time-bound programme for the elimination of child labour in theurban informal sector in BangladeshILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 720,394Norway2004-2007Objective 1: Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Bangladesh - ATime-Bound Programme ApproachILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 77,072Social Partner-TU2005-2007Objective 1: Developing a time-bound approach to eliminating the worst formsof child labour in BangladeshILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 744,796United Kingdom2004-2006Objective 1: Eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) inBangladesh: Preparatory Phase of a Time-Bound Programme (TBP)Employment opportunitiesAdequate earnings <strong>and</strong>productive workDecent hoursCombining work, family <strong>and</strong>personal lifeWork to be abolishedx x xx x xx x xx x xx x xStability <strong>and</strong> security of workEqual opportunity <strong>and</strong>treatment in employmentSafe work environmentSocial securitySocial dialogue, workers <strong>and</strong>employers’ representationEconomic <strong>and</strong> social contextfor decent workImprovement of data collection<strong>and</strong> statistical indicators12

Technical cooperation projectsTC13TC14Project name <strong>and</strong>project objectivesILO project on elimination ofchild labourAmount <strong>and</strong>funding agencyUS$ 4,542,756United StatesProject dates2001-2005Objective 1: Preventing <strong>and</strong> eliminating worst forms of child labour inBangladeshILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 9,507,534Netherl<strong>and</strong>s2007-2011Objective 1: Urban Informal Economy (UIE) Component of the Project ofSupport to the Time Bound Programme towards the Elimination of WorstForms of Child Labour in BangladeshTC15 ILO project on migrants labour US$ 56,454Switzerl<strong>and</strong>TC16TC17TC182008Objective 1: Regional seminar on deployment of workers overseas: challengesto present day migrationILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 214,500Finl<strong>and</strong>BGD/97/17/151Objective 1: Stipend disbursement programme for the elimination of childlabourILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 514,419GermanyBGD/00/11/150Objective 1: Country programmes for the elimination of child labour inBangladeshILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 56,783GermanyBGD/98/11/278Strategic objective of theDecent Work AgendaFundamental principles <strong>and</strong>rights at workEmploymentSocial protectionSocial dialogue <strong>and</strong> tripartismSubstantive element of the Decent Work Agenda under the framework for<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent WorkEmployment opportunitiesAdequate earnings <strong>and</strong>productive workDecent hoursCombining work, family <strong>and</strong>personal lifeWork to be abolishedx x xx x xStability <strong>and</strong> security of workEqual opportunity <strong>and</strong>treatment in employmentx xx x xx x xObjective 1: Strengthening to combat child labour x x xSafe work environmentSocial securitySocial dialogue, workers <strong>and</strong>employers’ representationEconomic <strong>and</strong> social contextfor decent workImprovement of data collection<strong>and</strong> statistical indicators13

Technical cooperation projectsProject name <strong>and</strong>project objectivesAmount <strong>and</strong>funding agencyProject datesStrategic objective of theDecent Work AgendaFundamental principles <strong>and</strong>rights at workEmploymentSocial protectionSocial dialogue <strong>and</strong> tripartismSubstantive element of the Decent Work Agenda under the framework for<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent WorkEmployment opportunitiesAdequate earnings <strong>and</strong>productive workDecent hoursCombining work, family <strong>and</strong>personal lifeWork to be abolishedStability <strong>and</strong> security of workEqual opportunity <strong>and</strong>treatment in employmentSafe work environmentSocial securitySocial dialogue, workers <strong>and</strong>employers’ representationEconomic <strong>and</strong> social contextfor decent workImprovement of data collection<strong>and</strong> statistical indicatorsTC19ILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 660,580Norway1999-2005Objective 1: International programme on elimination of child labour inBangladeshx x xTC20ILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 66,876Social Partner-EA2000-2005Objective 1: <strong>Monitoring</strong> to keep Garment Factories Child Labour FreeObjective 2: Eradication of Hazardous Child Labour in Bangladeshx x xTC21ILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 367,347Social Partner-JIBGD/98/01/050Objective 1: Extended comp. of BGMEA-ILO-UNICEF for elimination of CL x x xTC22ILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 301,634United StatesBGD/00/52/USAObjective 1: Continuing the child labour project in the garment export industryin Bangladesh (BGMEA Phase III)x x xTC23ILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 767,498United States1995-1998Objective 1: Elimination of child labour in BGMEA garment factories, Phase I x x xTC24ILO project on elimination ofchild labourUS$ 744,052United States1998-2001Objective 1: Elimination of child labour in BGMEA garment factories, Phase II(Umbrella INT/95/M05/USA)x x x14

Technical cooperation projectsTC1TC2TC3TC4Project name <strong>and</strong>project objectivesEC project on poverty <strong>and</strong>working children programmeAmount <strong>and</strong>funding agency€ 635,000European UnionProject datesStrategic objective of theDecent Work AgendaFundamental principles <strong>and</strong>rights at workEmploymentSocial protectionSocial dialogue <strong>and</strong> tripartismSubstantive element of the Decent Work Agenda under the framework for<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent WorkEmployment opportunitiesAdequate earnings <strong>and</strong>productive workOther relevant TC projects funded by EC or other donor agenciesJuly 2004 - June 2009Objective 1: To improve <strong>and</strong> monitor children's working conditions, monitorsavings, education <strong>and</strong> health, <strong>and</strong> to establish micro credit programmes forpoor families with working childrenEC project on buildinglinkages to combat trafficking<strong>and</strong> exploitation in children<strong>and</strong> adolescents (SANJOG)€ 1,412,660European UnionFebruary 2003- June 2007Objective 1: To combat trafficking <strong>and</strong> exploitation of children <strong>and</strong> adolescents<strong>and</strong> to provide psychosocial rehabilitation for victims <strong>and</strong> to repatriate themEC project on prevention ofcross-border trafficking ofwomen <strong>and</strong> children€ 566,000European UnionJanuary 2006 -December 2008Objective 1: To prevent cross-border trafficking of women <strong>and</strong> children inSouth West Bangladesh/India by supporting regional activities such asresearch, training <strong>and</strong> increasing community awarenessEC project on developing arights-based approach foranti-trafficking actions inSouth Asia (Bangladesh, India<strong>and</strong> Nepal)€ 948,299European UnionMarch 2006 -February 2009Objective 1: To combat cross-border trafficking between India, Nepal <strong>and</strong>Bangladesh through the rights-based development of legal <strong>and</strong> socialmeasures <strong>and</strong> rehabilitationDecent hoursCombining work, family <strong>and</strong>personal lifeWork to be abolishedStability <strong>and</strong> security of workEqual opportunity <strong>and</strong>treatment in employmentx x x xx xx xx xSafe work environmentSocial securitySocial dialogue, workers <strong>and</strong>employers’ representationEconomic <strong>and</strong> social contextfor decent workImprovement of data collection<strong>and</strong> statistical indicators15

Technical cooperation projectsProject name <strong>and</strong>project objectivesAmount <strong>and</strong>funding agencyProject datesStrategic objective of theDecent Work AgendaFundamental principles <strong>and</strong>rights at workEmploymentSocial protectionSocial dialogue <strong>and</strong> tripartismSubstantive element of the Decent Work Agenda under the framework for<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent WorkEmployment opportunitiesAdequate earnings <strong>and</strong>productive workDecent hoursCombining work, family <strong>and</strong>personal lifeWork to be abolishedStability <strong>and</strong> security of workEqual opportunity <strong>and</strong>treatment in employmentSafe work environmentSocial securitySocial dialogue, workers <strong>and</strong>employers’ representationEconomic <strong>and</strong> social contextfor decent workImprovement of data collection<strong>and</strong> statistical indicatorsTC5EC project on promotingrights of the disadvantaged bypreventing violence againstwomen (PROTIRODH)€ 800,000European UnionJanuary 2007-December 2009Objective 1: To improve response to incidences of violence against women<strong>and</strong> to promote a more enabling environment for the fulfilment of women’s(including sex workers) dignity <strong>and</strong> right to freedom from gender-basedviolencex x x x xTC6EC project on ruralemployment opportunities forpublic assets (REOPA)US$ 26.7 millionEuropean UnionMay 2007-April 2011Objective 1: To provide all-year as well as seasonal employment <strong>and</strong> toincrease income for destitute rural women <strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong>less poorx x xObjective 2: Improving public assets for the benefit of rural communities xObjective 3: Strengthening local government institutions for better response topro-poor growthxTC7Other donor project onagriculture sector programmeDKK 531 millionDANIDAOctober 2006-September 2011Support, phase IIObjective 1: Improve living condition of poor, marginal, <strong>and</strong> small farmerhouseholds through enhanced, integrated <strong>and</strong> sustainable agriculturalproductivityx xObjective 2: Support to Union Parishads is envisaged both in terms of capacitybuilding <strong>and</strong> facilitation <strong>and</strong> management of user-defined small scaledevelopment interventions, establishing dem<strong>and</strong> responsive annualinfrastructure plans <strong>and</strong> guidelines for UP infrastructure planningx16

Technical cooperation projectsTC8Project name <strong>and</strong>project objectivesAmount <strong>and</strong>funding agencyProject datesObjective 3: Provision of a modest annual block grant to the Union Parishads isenvisaged to support community activities or producer groups in the livestock<strong>and</strong> fisheries sectorADB Regional TechnicalAssistance 6430: Measuringthe Informal SectorN/AADBJanuary 2008-December 2010Objective: To provide national statistical offices with a sound strategy forcollecting data from the informal sector; (ii) supporting the integration ofinformal sector survey results into the compilation of national accountsstatistics; <strong>and</strong> (iii) enabling agencies involved in planning, monitoring, <strong>and</strong>evaluating poverty-related policies to better underst<strong>and</strong> the relationshipsbetween poverty <strong>and</strong> the informal sector.Strategic objective of theDecent Work AgendaFundamental principles <strong>and</strong>rights at workEmploymentSocial protectionSocial dialogue <strong>and</strong> tripartismSubstantive element of the Decent Work Agenda under the framework for<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent WorkEmployment opportunitiesAdequate earnings <strong>and</strong>productive workDecent hoursCombining work, family <strong>and</strong>personal lifeWork to be abolishedStability <strong>and</strong> security of workEqual opportunity <strong>and</strong>treatment in employmentSafe work environmentSocial securitySocial dialogue, workers <strong>and</strong>employers’ representationEconomic <strong>and</strong> social contextfor decent workxImprovement of data collection<strong>and</strong> statistical indicatorsxSource: Author's compilation based on ILO, EC <strong>and</strong> other international donor documents.17

4. Existing data sources <strong>and</strong> Decent WorkIndicatorsTable 3 presents existing sources of statistics produced at the national level which could beused to identify <strong>and</strong> monitor trends in decent work. The compilation of existing statisticspresented in Table 4 <strong>and</strong> Table 5 is expected to enable the ILO’s constituents to identifycurrent data gaps on Decent Work Indicators. Also, it will help them to decide on prioritiesfor future data collection <strong>and</strong> serve as a starting point for the incorporation of suitablemodules in existing surveys <strong>and</strong> other sources <strong>and</strong> the development of new data collectiontools with assistance from the MAP project.Table 3 is designed to list the national data collection methods which are relevant to decentwork. Each source of data has been described in more detail, using the templates in AnnexI (labour force <strong>and</strong> other household surveys), Annex II (establishment surveys) <strong>and</strong> AnnexIII (administrative data sources).Table 3.Existing data sources with relevance to the Decent Work AgendaNo. Name of the survey Organization responsibleLFS <strong>and</strong> other household surveys1 Population Census Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)2 Agriculture Census BBS3 Labour Force Survey BBS4 Household Income <strong>and</strong> Expenditure Survey BBS5 Decent Work Pilot Survey BBS6 Child Labour Survey BBS7 Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Pilot Survey BBS8 Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey BBS jointly with UNICEF9 Bangladesh Demographic <strong>and</strong> Health Survey National Institute for Population Research <strong>and</strong> Training(NIPORT)10 Survey on Social Safety Nets Programmes BBS11 Baseline Survey for Determining Hazardous Child LabourSectorsBBS12 Measuring Decent Work Indicators Pilot Survey BBS13 Poverty <strong>Monitoring</strong> Survey BBS14 <strong>Monitoring</strong> of Employment Survey BBSEstablishment surveys15 Survey of Manufacturing Industries BBS16 Annual Establishments <strong>and</strong> Institutions Survey BBS17 Economic Census BBS18 Pilot Wage Survey BBS19 Quarterly Wage Rate Survey: Wage Rate <strong>and</strong> Earnings ofNon-farm WorkersBBS20 Informal Sector Survey of Bangladesh (forthcoming) BBSAdministrative records21 Data from Social Security Office Ministry of Finance22 Data from Unemployment Agency BMET with its 42 District Manpower <strong>and</strong> Employment Offices23 Statistics on strikes <strong>and</strong> lockouts Department of Labour24 Statistics on Occupational Safety <strong>and</strong> Health Department of Inspection for Factories <strong>and</strong> Establishments25 Annual Report Ministry of Labour <strong>and</strong> EmploymentSource: Author’s compilation.18

As Table 3 indicates, a number of data sources are available in relation to the measurementof decent work <strong>and</strong> Decent Work Indicators (DWI), including two surveys, namely,Baseline Survey for Determining Hazardous Child Labour Sectors <strong>and</strong> Measuring DecentWork Indicators Pilot Survey. Both these surveys were carried out in 2005 with financial<strong>and</strong> technical support from the ILO. However, they were the first of their kind <strong>and</strong> onetimesurveys, <strong>and</strong> can provide the baseline for monitoring <strong>and</strong> assessing progress of decentwork if they are repeated in the future. A note of caution is in order here. MeasuringDecent Work Indicators Pilot Survey was essentially a pilot survey with inherentweaknesses for being used as a baseline. More importantly, the second part of the surveyreport is entirely based on past LFS <strong>and</strong> various other secondary sources. Besides, itindicated decent work data deficits in low pay rate, unemployment arising from industrialrestructuring <strong>and</strong> forced overtime (BBS, 2006a).Table 4 identifies the potential sources of information for each Decent Work Indicator. Noother national indicators have previously been identified <strong>and</strong> hence do not appear in the listpresented in Table 4 <strong>and</strong> Table 5. Both these tables were filled with the help of the BBS, asthey are primarily responsible for the relevant surveys or databases <strong>and</strong> are very importantfor our present mapping exercise.The data on Decent Work Indicators that are currently not collected include the following:• EARN-7 Employees with recent job training,• HOUR-3 Annual hours worked per employed person by sex,• STAB-1 Precarious work in informal employment,• STAB-2 Employment tenure,• EQUA-4 Indicator for Fundamental Principles <strong>and</strong> Rights at Work (elimination ofdiscrimination in respect of employment <strong>and</strong> occupation),• EQUA-5 Measure for discrimination by race / ethnicity/ of indigenous people / of(recent) migrant workers / of rural workers,• DIAL-4 Indicator for Fundamental Principles <strong>and</strong> Rights at Work (Freedom ofAssociation <strong>and</strong> Collective Bargaining),• SAFE-3 Time lost due to occupational injuries, <strong>and</strong>• CONT-8 Labour share in GDP.The DWI for Fundamental Principles <strong>and</strong> Rights at Work (elimination of discrimination inrespect of employment <strong>and</strong> occupation), Measure for Discrimination, <strong>and</strong> FundamentalPrinciples <strong>and</strong> Rights at Work (Freedom of Association <strong>and</strong> Collective Bargaining) remainto be developed by the ILO. Furthermore, hourly wage data are not collected directly in the<strong>Monitoring</strong> of Employment Survey (MES), Quarterly Wage Rate Survey (QWRS) <strong>and</strong>LFS. However, hourly wage data can be estimated based on data on actual hours worked<strong>and</strong> earnings during the last week. For the first time, the Informal Sector Survey ofBangladesh (ISSB) is being conducted for 2009/10. ISSB is a two-part survey, whichincludes a household-based establishment survey. But ISSB does not identify precariouswork.In addition, data on share of the population aged 65 years <strong>and</strong> above benefiting from apension are partly available in the records of the Department of Social Services (DSS).However, the programme of the DSS covers only those persons (a) whose annual incomedoes not exceed two thous<strong>and</strong> taka, <strong>and</strong> (b) who must not have worked in the formalsector. Besides, the coverage of the programme remains limited only to the rural areas. Nosurvey covers employment tenure, measure for discrimination <strong>and</strong> time lost due tooccupational injuries. Nor has any attempt been made to measure labour share in GDP.19

Table 4.List of statistical indicators for monitoring <strong>and</strong> assessing progress on decent workElements of theDecent Work AgendaEmploymentopportunitiesAdequate earnings<strong>and</strong> productive workIndicatoridentifierIndicator (M = main indicator, A = additional indicator,C = context indicator; all indicators marked ‘S’ shouldalso be disaggregated by sex.)Data availabilityEMPL-1 M – Employment-to-population ratio, 15-64 years (S) Estimable from LFS dataEMPL-2 M – Unemployment rate (S) Estimated in LFS reportEMPL-3M – Youth not in education <strong>and</strong> not in employment, 15-24 years(S)Estimable from LFS dataEMPL-4 M – Informal employment (S) Estimated in LFS report, ISSBEMPL-5 A – Labour force participation rate, 15-64 years Estimated in LFS reportEMPL-6 A – Youth unemployment rate,15-24 years (S) Estimated in LFS reportEMPL-7 A – Unemployment by level of education (S) Estimated in LFS reportEMPL-8 A – Employment by status in employment (S) Estimated in LFS reportEMPL-9EMPL-10A – Proportion of own-account <strong>and</strong> contr. family workers in totalemployment (S)A – Share of wage employment in non-agricultural employment(S)Estimable from LFS dataEstimable from LFS dataEARN-1 M – Working poor (S) Estimable from HIES, LFS dataEARN-2 M – Low pay rate (below 2/3 of median hourly earnings) (S) Estimable from LFS micro dataEARN-3 A – Average hourly earnings in selected occupations (S) Estimable from LFS dataEARN-4 A – Average real wages (S) Estimable from LFS <strong>and</strong> QWRSdataEARN-5 A – Minimum wage as % of median wage Estimable from LFS, MES <strong>and</strong>QWRS micro dataEARN-6 A – Manufacturing wage index Estimated in Statistical YearbookEARN-7 A – Employees with recent job training (past year / past 4weeks) (S)Decent hours HOUR-1 M – Excessive hours (more than 48 hours per week; ‘usual’hours) (S)Work to beabolishedStability <strong>and</strong> securityof workEqual opportunity<strong>and</strong> treatment inemploymentUnavailableEstimable from LFS dataHOUR-2 A – Usual hours worked (st<strong>and</strong>ardized hour b<strong>and</strong>s) (S) Estimated in LFS reportHOUR-3 A – Annual hours worked per employed person (S) UnavailableHOUR-4 A – Time-related underemployment rate (S) Estimated in LFS reportABOL-1 M – Child labour (S) Estimable from LFS micro data*ABOL-2 A – Hazardous child labour (S) Estimated in DWI Pilot Survey(2005) report**STAB-1 M – Precarious work (informal employment) UnavailableEMPL-4 M – Informal Employment (S) Available in ISSB (forthcoming)STAB-2 A – Employment tenure (S) UnavailableEQUA-1 M – Occupational segregation by sex Estimated in LFS reportEQUA-2 M – Female share of employment in ISCO-88 groups 11 <strong>and</strong> 12 Estimable from LFS dataEQUA-3 A – Gender wage gap Estimable from LFS, MES <strong>and</strong>QWRS dataEQUA-4A – Indicator for Fundamental Principles <strong>and</strong> Rights at Work(Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment <strong>and</strong>Unavailable20

Elements of theDecent Work AgendaSafe workenvironmentIndicatoridentifierEQUA-5Indicator (M = main indicator, A = additional indicator,C = context indicator; all indicators marked ‘S’ shouldalso be disaggregated by sex.)occupation) to be developed by the OfficeA – Measure for discrimination by race / ethnicity / ofindigenous people / of (recent) migrant workers / of ruralworkers where relevant <strong>and</strong> available at the national level.Data availabilityUnavailableSAFE-1 M – Occupational injury rate, fatal Estimated in DIFE <strong>and</strong> in DWIPilot Survey (2005) reportSAFE-2 A – Occupational injury rate, non-fatal Estimated in DIFE <strong>and</strong> in DWIPilot Survey (2005) reportSAFE-3 A – Time lost due to occupational injuries UnavailableSAFE-4A – Labour inspection (inspectors per 10,000 employedpersons)Social security SECU-1 M – Share of population aged 65 <strong>and</strong> above benefiting from apension (S)Social dialogue,workers <strong>and</strong>employers’representationEconomic <strong>and</strong> socialcontext fordecent workEstimable from DIFE staff data &LFS dataPartly available from the recordsin the Department of SocialServices (Ministry of SocialWelfare)SECU-2 M – Public social security expenditure (% of GDP) Estimated in DWI Pilot Survey(2005) report, <strong>and</strong> estimable fromdata in National Revenue Budgetof Ministry of Finance <strong>and</strong>National Accounts by BBSSECU-3SECU-4A – Health-care exp. not financed out of pocket by privatehouseholdsA – Share of population covered by (basic) health careprovision (S)Available in the records of theMinistry of Health <strong>and</strong> FamilyWelfareAvailable in the records of theMinistry of Health <strong>and</strong> FamilyWelfareDIAL-1 M – Union density rate (S) Estimable from DOL dataDIAL-2 M – Enterprises belonging to employer organization [rate] Estimable from BEF dataDIAL-3 M – Collective bargaining coverage rate (S) Estimable from DOL dataDIAL-4M – Indicator for Fundamental Principles <strong>and</strong> Rights at Work(Freedom of Association <strong>and</strong> Collective Bargaining) to bedeveloped by the OfficeUnavailableDIAL-5 A – Strikes <strong>and</strong> lockouts/rates of days not worked Estimated from DOL dataCONT-1 C – Children not in school (% by age) (S) Estimated in DWI Pilot Survey(2005) report <strong>and</strong> BangladeshMICS surveyCONT-2CONT-3CONT-4C – Estimated % of working-age population who are HIVpositiveC – Labour productivity (GDP per employed person, level <strong>and</strong>growth rate)C – Income inequality (percentile ratio P90/P10, income orconsumption)Estimable from BangladeshDemographic <strong>and</strong> Health SurveyEstimable from NationalAccounts <strong>and</strong> LFS dataEstimated in HIES reportCONT-5 C – Inflation rate (CPI) Estimated in National AccountsCONT-6 C – Employment by branch of economic activity Estimated in LFS reportCONT-7C – Education of adult population (adult literacy rate, adultsecondary-school graduation rate) (S)Estimable from LFSCONT-8 C – Labour share in GDP Unavailable21

Elements of theDecent Work AgendaIndicatoridentifierIndicator (M = main indicator, A = additional indicator,C = context indicator; all indicators marked ‘S’ shouldalso be disaggregated by sex.)Data availabilityCONT-9C (additional) – Real GDP per capita in PPP$ (level <strong>and</strong> growthrate)Estimable from NationalAccounts dataCONT-10C (additional) – Female share of employment by industry (ISICtabulation category)Estimated in LFS reportCONT-11C (additional) – Wage / earnings inequality (percentile ratioP90/P10)Estimable from HIES, LFS <strong>and</strong>QWRS dataCONT-12 C (additional) – Poverty indicators (gap <strong>and</strong> rate) Estimable from HIES dataNotes: * Also estimated in (i) Report on National Sample Survey of Child Labour in Bangladesh, 1995/96; (2) Report on National Child Labour Survey,2002/03. Besides, separate Reports on Baseline Survey on Child Labour, 2002/03, in (i) Welding, (ii) Automobile, (iii) Road Transport, (iv) BatteryRecharging/Recycling, <strong>and</strong> (v) Metropolitan Cities.** Additional data are available in the Report on Baseline Survey for Determining Hazardous Child Labour Sectors in Bangladesh, 2005.22

Table 5.Indicators of decent work in existing sources of dataDecent Work Indicators LFS <strong>and</strong> other household surveys Establishment surveys Administrative Records CensusSurveyIndicatorLabour Force SurveyHousehold Income <strong>and</strong>Expenditure SurveyDecent Work IndicatorsPilot SurveyChild Labour SurveyCSEC Pilot SurveyMultiple IndicatorsCluster SurveyDemographic <strong>and</strong>Health SurveySurvey on Social SafetyNets ProgrammesPoverty <strong>Monitoring</strong>Survey<strong>Monitoring</strong> ofEmployment SurveySurvey of ManufacturingIndustriesOccupationalWage SurveyQuarterly WageRate SurveyInformal SectorSurvey of BangladeshEconomic CensusMinistry of Labour <strong>and</strong>EmploymentMinistry of Social WelfareMinistry of FinanceMinistry of Health & FamilyWelfareBangladesh EmployersFederationPopulation CensusAgriculture CensusEMPL-1 M – Employment-to-population ratio, 15-64years (S)1(S) .. 1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..EMPL-2 M – Unemployment rate (S) 3(S) .. 3(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..EMPL-3 M – Youth not in education <strong>and</strong> not inemployment, 15-24 years (S)1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..EMPL-4 M – Informal employment (S) 3(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..EMPL-5 A – Labour force participation rate,15-64 yearsEMPL-6 A – Youth unemployment rate,15-24 years (S)3(S) .. 1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..3(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..EMPL-7 A – Unemployment by level of education (S) 3(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..EMPL-8 A – Employment by status in employment(S)EMPL-9 A – Proportion of own-account <strong>and</strong> contr.family workers in total employment (S)EMPL-10 A – Share of wage employment in nonagriculturalemployment (S)3(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..2(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..2(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..EARN-1 M – Working poor (S) 1(S) 1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..EARN-2 M – Low pay rate (below 2/3 of medianhourly earnings) (S)EARN-3 A – Average hourly earnings in selectedoccupations (S)1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..EARN-4 A – Average real wages (S) 1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..EARN-5 A – Minimum wage as % of median wage 1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..23

Decent Work Indicators LFS <strong>and</strong> other household surveys Establishment surveys Administrative Records CensusSurveyIndicatorLabour Force SurveyHousehold Income <strong>and</strong>Expenditure SurveyDecent Work IndicatorsPilot SurveyChild Labour SurveyCSEC Pilot SurveyMultiple IndicatorsCluster SurveyDemographic <strong>and</strong>Health SurveySurvey on Social SafetyNets ProgrammesPoverty <strong>Monitoring</strong>Survey<strong>Monitoring</strong> ofEmployment SurveySurvey of ManufacturingIndustriesOccupationalWage SurveyQuarterly WageRate SurveyInformal SectorSurvey of BangladeshEconomic CensusMinistry of Labour <strong>and</strong>EmploymentMinistry of Social WelfareMinistry of FinanceMinistry of Health & FamilyWelfareBangladesh EmployersFederationPopulation CensusAgriculture CensusEARN-6 A – Manufacturing wage index .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 .. .. .. ..EARN-7 A – Employees with recent job training (pastyear / past 4 weeks) (S)HOUR-1 M – Excessive hours (more than 48 hoursper week; ‘usual’ hours) (S)HOUR-2 A – Usual hours worked (st<strong>and</strong>ardized hourb<strong>and</strong>s) (S)HOUR-3 A – Annual hours worked per employedperson (S).. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..1(S) .. 1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..HOUR-4 A – Time-related underemployment rate (S) 3(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..ABOL-1 M – Child labour [as defined by ICLSresolution] (S)1(S) .. .. 3(S) 3(S) 1(S) 1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..ABOL-2 A – Hazardous child labour (S) .. .. 1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..STAB-1 M – Precarious work (informal employment) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..STAB-2 (EMPL-4) M – Informal Employment (S) 3(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..STAB-3 A – Employment tenure (S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..EQUA-1 M – Occupational segregation by sex (19) 3(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..EQUA-2 M – Female share of employment in ISCO-88 groups 11 <strong>and</strong> 12 (19a)1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..EQUA-3 A – Gender wage gap 1 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..SAFE-1 M – Occupational injury rate, fatal .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 .. .. .. .. .. ..24

Decent Work Indicators LFS <strong>and</strong> other household surveys Establishment surveys Administrative Records CensusSurveyIndicatorLabour Force SurveyHousehold Income <strong>and</strong>Expenditure SurveyDecent Work IndicatorsPilot SurveyChild Labour SurveyCSEC Pilot SurveyMultiple IndicatorsCluster SurveyDemographic <strong>and</strong>Health SurveySurvey on Social SafetyNets ProgrammesPoverty <strong>Monitoring</strong>Survey<strong>Monitoring</strong> ofEmployment SurveySurvey of ManufacturingIndustriesOccupationalWage SurveyQuarterly WageRate SurveyInformal SectorSurvey of BangladeshEconomic CensusMinistry of Labour <strong>and</strong>EmploymentMinistry of Social WelfareMinistry of FinanceMinistry of Health & FamilyWelfareBangladesh EmployersFederationPopulation CensusAgriculture CensusSAFE-2 A – Occupational injury rate, non-fatal .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. .. ..SAFE-3 A – Time lost due to occupational injuries .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..SAFE-4 A – Labour inspection (inspectors per10,000 employed persons)SECU-1 M – Share of population aged 65 <strong>and</strong> abovebenefiting from a pension (S)SECU-2 M – Public social security expenditure (% ofGDP)SECU-3 A – Health-care exp. not financed out ofpocket by private householdsSECU-4 A – Share of population covered by (basic)health care provision (S)1 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3(S) .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. ..DIAL-1 M – Union density rate (S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. .. ..DIAL-2 M – Enterprises belonging to employerorganization [rate].. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. ..DIAL-3 M – Collective bargaining coverage rate (S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. .. ..DIAL-5 A – Strikes <strong>and</strong> lockouts/rates of days notworked.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 .. .. .. .. .. ..CONT-1 C – Children not in school (% by age) (S) .. .. .. .. .. 1(S) 1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..CONT-2 C – Estimated % of working-age populationwho are HIV positive (S)CONT-3 C – Labour productivity (GDP per employedperson, level <strong>and</strong> growth rate).. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1(S) .. .. ..1 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. ..25

Decent Work Indicators LFS <strong>and</strong> other household surveys Establishment surveys Administrative Records CensusSurveyIndicatorLabour Force SurveyHousehold Income <strong>and</strong>Expenditure SurveyDecent Work IndicatorsPilot SurveyChild Labour SurveyCSEC Pilot SurveyMultiple IndicatorsCluster SurveyDemographic <strong>and</strong>Health SurveySurvey on Social SafetyNets ProgrammesPoverty <strong>Monitoring</strong>Survey<strong>Monitoring</strong> ofEmployment SurveySurvey of ManufacturingIndustriesOccupationalWage SurveyQuarterly WageRate SurveyInformal SectorSurvey of BangladeshEconomic CensusMinistry of Labour <strong>and</strong>EmploymentMinistry of Social WelfareMinistry of FinanceMinistry of Health & FamilyWelfareBangladesh EmployersFederationPopulation CensusAgriculture CensusCONT-4 C – Income inequality (percentile ratioP90/P10, income or consumption).. 3 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..CONT-5 C – Inflation rate (CPI) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 .. .. .. ..CONT-6 C – Employment by branch of economicactivityCONT-7 C – Education of adult population (adultliteracy rate, adult secondary-school graduation rate)(S)3(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..1(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3(S) ..CONT-8 C – Labour share in GDP .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..CONT-9 C (additional) – Real GDP per capita inPPP$ (level <strong>and</strong> growth rate)CONT-10 C (additional) – Female share ofemployment by industry (ISIC tabulation category)CONT-11 C (additional) – Wage / earnings inequality(percentile ratio P90/P10)CONT-12 C (additional) – Poverty indicators (gap<strong>and</strong> rate).. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. ..3(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..1 1 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..3(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. 3(S) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..Coding: 1 = Primary data for indicator are collected, but indicator is not calculated / not published; 2 = Primary data for indicator are collected, <strong>and</strong> indicator is calculated <strong>and</strong> published without having the status of an officialstatistic; 3 = Primary data for indicator are collected, <strong>and</strong> indicator is calculated <strong>and</strong> published as an official statistic by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics or another Government agency; (S) indicator is disaggregated by sex.Survey Notes: Labour force survey (1999/2000, 2002/03, 2005/06, 2009/10); Household Income <strong>and</strong> Expenditure Survey (2000, 2005); Decent Work Indicators Pilot Survey (2005); Child labour survey (2002/2003); CommercialSexual Exploitation of Children Pilot Survey (2008); Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (2006, 2009); Demographic <strong>and</strong> Health Survey (2004); Survey on Social Safety Nets Programmes (2007); Poverty <strong>Monitoring</strong> Survey(2004); <strong>Monitoring</strong> of Employment Survey (2009); Survey of Manufacturing Industries (1997/98, 1999/2000, 2001/02, 2005/06); Occupational Wage Survey (2007); Economic Census (2001, 2003); Quarterly Wage Rate Survey,Wage Rate <strong>and</strong> Earnings of Non-Farm Workers (2006/07, 2007/08); Informal Sector Survey of Bangladesh (2009/10) – forthcoming ; Ministry of Labour <strong>and</strong> Employment Administrative Records(http://www.mole.gov.bd/industry_wise_accidents.php ; http://www.mole.gov.bd/trade_union.php; http://www.mole.gov.bd/determination_of_cba.php; http://www.mole.gov.bd/industrial_disputes.php) ; Ministry of Social WelfareAdministrative Records (http://www.msw.gov.bd/reports_publication.asp) ; Ministry of Finance Administrative Records (http://www.mof.gov.bd/en/) ; Ministry of Health <strong>and</strong> Family Welfare Administrative Records(http://www.mohfw.gov.bd/index.php/about-mohafw/basic-health-statistics) ; Bangladesh Employers Federation Administrative Records; Population Census (2001); Agriculture Census (2008).26

5. Synopsis <strong>and</strong> conclusionThis part of the report summarizes the information presented in the foregoing chapters in Table 6<strong>and</strong> includes other relevant information presented in Table 7 collected during the research. InTable 6, only information related to projects or surveys already implemented in the country appear.Therefore, this table highlights gaps in current data collection systems <strong>and</strong> can be used toarrive at a strategy to gather data necessary to better monitor <strong>and</strong> assess progress on decent work.As Tables 5 <strong>and</strong> 6 indicate, data are not available, nor can indicators be estimated on the basis ofavailable data for the following:(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)EARN-7 A – Employees with recent job training (past year / past 4 weeks) (S),HOUR-3 A – Annual hours worked per employed person (S),STAB-1 M – Precarious work in informal employment,STAB-3 A – Employment tenure (S),EQUA-4 A – Indicator for Fundamental Principles <strong>and</strong> Rights at Work (Eliminationof discrimination in respect of employment <strong>and</strong> occupation)(vi) EQUA-5 A – Measure for discrimination by race / ethnicity / of indigenous people /of (recent) migrant workers / of rural workers where relevant <strong>and</strong> available at thenational level.(vii) SAFE-3 A – Time lost due to occupational injuries,(viii) DIAL-4 M – Indicator for Fundamental Principles <strong>and</strong> Rights at Work (Freedom ofAssociation <strong>and</strong> Collective Bargaining), <strong>and</strong>(ix) CONT-8 C – Labour share in GDP.Indicators for which primary data are collected, but the indicator is not calculated or notpublished include:(i) EMPL-1 M – Employment-to-population ratio, 15-64 years (S),(ii) EMPL-3 M – Youth not in education <strong>and</strong> not in employment, 15-24 years (S),(iii) EARN-1 M – Working poor (S),(iv) EARN-2 M – Low pay rate (below 2/3 of median hourly earnings) (S)(v) EARN-3 A – Average hourly earnings in selected occupations (S),(vi) EARN-4 A – Average real wages (S),(vii) EARN-5 A – Minimum wage as % of median wage,(viii) HOUR-1 M – Excessive hours (more than 48 hours per week; ‘usual’ hours) (S),(ix) HOUR-2 A – Usual hours worked (st<strong>and</strong>ardized hour b<strong>and</strong>s) (S),(x) ABOL-2 A – Hazardous child labour (S),(xi) EQUA-2 M – Female share of employment in ISCO-88 groups 11 <strong>and</strong> 12,(xii) EQUA-3 A – Gender wage gap(xiii) SAFE-2 A – Occupational injury rate, non-fatal,(xiv) SAFE-4 A – Labour inspection (inspectors per 10,000 employed persons),(xv) SECU-2 M – Public social security expenditure (% of GDP),(xvi) SECU-3 A – Health-care expenditure not financed out of pocket by privatehouseholds,(xvii) SECU-4 A – Share of population covered by (basic) health care provision (withoutsex disaggregation),(xviii) DIAL-1 M – Union density rate (without sex disaggregation),(xix) DIAL-2 M – Enterprises belonging to employer organization [rate],(xx) DIAL-3 M – Collective bargaining coverage rate (without sex disaggregation),(xxi) CONT-1 C – Children not in school (% by age) (S),(xxii) CONT-2 C – Estimated % of working-age population who are HIV positive (S),(xxiii) CONT-3 C – Labour productivity (GDP per employed person, level <strong>and</strong> growth rate),27

(xxiv) CONT-9 C (additional) – Real GDP per capita in PPP$ (level <strong>and</strong> growth rate), <strong>and</strong>(xxv) CONT-11 C (additional) – Wage / earnings inequality (percentile ratio P90/P10), withsex disaggregation.Indicators for which primary data are collected, <strong>and</strong> the indicator is calculated <strong>and</strong> publishedwithout having the status of an official statistic include:(i)(ii)(iii)EMPL-9 A – Proportion of own-account <strong>and</strong> contribution of family workers in totalemployment (S),EMPL-10 A – Share of wage employment in non-agricultural employment (S), <strong>and</strong>DIAL-5 A – Strikes <strong>and</strong> lockouts/rates of days not worked without sex breakdown.Finally, indicators for which primary data are collected, <strong>and</strong> indicators are calculated <strong>and</strong>published as official statistics by the BBS or other Government agencies include:(i) EMPL-2 M – Unemployment rate (S),(ii) EMPL-4 M – Informal employment (S),(iii) EMPL-5 A – Labour force participation rate, 15-64 years,(iv) EMPL-6 A – Youth unemployment rate,15-24 years (S),(v) EMPL-7 A – Unemployment by level of education (S),(vi) EMPL-8 A – Employment by status in employment (S),(vii) EARN-6 A – Manufacturing wage index without sex breakdown,(viii) HOUR-4 A – Time-related underemployment rate (S),(ix) ABOL-1 M – Child labour [as defined by ICLS resolution] (S),(x) STAB-2 M – Informal employment (S),(xi) EQUA-1 M – Occupational segregation by sex (19),(xii) SAFE-1 M – Occupational injury rate, fatal without sex breakdown,(xiii) SECU-1 M – Share of population aged 65 <strong>and</strong> above benefiting from a pension (S),(xiv) CONT-4 C – Income inequality (percentile ratio P90/P10, income or consumption)(without sex disaggregation),(xv) CONT-5 C – Inflation rate (CPI),(xvi) CONT-6 C – Employment by branch of economic activity,(xvii) CONT-7 C – Education of adult population (adult literacy rate, adult secondaryschoolgraduation rate) (S), <strong>and</strong>(xviii) CONT-10 C (additional) – Female share of employment by industry (ISIC tabulationcategory).(xix) CONT-12 C (additional) – Poverty indicators (gap <strong>and</strong> rate).It is evident that for most of the Decent Work Indicators data are either not available or partlyavailable at irregular intervals in many cases. These data gaps <strong>and</strong> deficits point to the need forenlarging the coverage of data collection <strong>and</strong> improving the existing database for Decent WorkIndicators on a regular basis in order to monitor <strong>and</strong> assess progress of decent work in thecountry.28

Table 6.Synopsis of Decent Work Country Programme, ongoing technical cooperation projects, legal indicators <strong>and</strong> available statistical Decent WorkIndicatorsElement of Decent WorkPriorities <strong>and</strong> Outcomes of the Decent WorkCountry Programme (Table 1)Objectives of Technical Cooperation Programmes(Table 2)Available statistical indicators(Table 5)Employment opportunitiesP1: Promotion of decent <strong>and</strong> productive employmentSkills training programme to better prepare workers,especially young women <strong>and</strong> men, throughimproved, efficient <strong>and</strong> effective vocational trainingsystem <strong>and</strong> CBT methodology for decentemploymentAdoption of employment-friendly policies <strong>and</strong>programmes <strong>and</strong> social protection schemes forselected vulnerable groups viz. informal economyworkers, tribal population, <strong>and</strong> disaster-affectedworkers1. ILO project on employment <strong>and</strong> skillsObjective 1: Multi-agency mission for Chittagong HillTracts for improving employment <strong>and</strong> skillsObjective 2: Improving skills training <strong>and</strong> employmentpromotionObjective 3: Technical <strong>and</strong> Vocational Education <strong>and</strong>Training (TVET) Reform in Bangladesh2. ILO project on women empowermentObjective 1: Women’s empowerment throughemployment <strong>and</strong> healthEMPL-1 M – Employment-to-population ratio, 15-64years (S)EMPL-2 M – Unemployment rate (S)EMPL-3 M – Youth not in education <strong>and</strong> not inemployment, 15-24 years (S)EMPL-4 M – Informal employment (S)EMPL-5 A – Labour force participation rate, 15-64yearsEMPL-6 A – Youth unemployment rate,15-24 years(S)EMPL-7 A – Unemployment by level of education(S)EMPL-8 A – Employment by status in employment(S)EMPL-9 A – Proportion of own-account <strong>and</strong> contr.family workers in total employment (S)EMPL-10 A – Share of wage employment in nonagriculturalemployment (S)3. EC project on rural employment opportunities forpublic assets (REOPA)Objective 1: To provide all-year as well as seasonalemployment <strong>and</strong> to increase income for destitute ruralwomen <strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong>less poorAdequate earnings <strong>and</strong>productive workP1: Promotion of decent <strong>and</strong> productive employmentSkills training programme to better prepare workers,especially young women <strong>and</strong> men, throughimproved, efficient <strong>and</strong> effective vocational trainingsystem <strong>and</strong> CBT methodology for decentemployment1. ILO project on employment <strong>and</strong> skillsObjective 1: Multi-agency mission for Chittagong HillTracts for improving employment <strong>and</strong> skillsObjective 2: Improving skills training <strong>and</strong> employmentpromotionObjective 3: Technical <strong>and</strong> Vocational Education <strong>and</strong>Training (TVET) Reform in BangladeshEARN-1 M – Working poor (S)EARN-2 M – Low pay rate (below 2/3 of medianhourly earnings) (S)EARN-3 A – Average hourly earnings in selectedoccupations (S)EARN-4 A – Average real wages (S)EARN-5 A – Minimum wage as % of median wageEARN-6 A – Manufacturing wage indexDecent hours - - HOUR-1 M – Excessive hours (more than 48 hoursper week; ‘usual’ hours) (S)HOUR-2 A – Usual hours worked (st<strong>and</strong>ardizedhour b<strong>and</strong>s) (S)HOUR-4 A – Time-related underemployment rate(S)29

Element of Decent WorkCombining work, family <strong>and</strong>personal lifePriorities <strong>and</strong> Outcomes of the Decent WorkCountry Programme (Table 1)Objectives of Technical Cooperation Programmes(Table 2)- - -Available statistical indicators(Table 5)Work to be abolishedP2: Promotion of fundamental principles <strong>and</strong> rightsat work including progressive elimination of WFCL1. Adoption of national plan of action on WFCLILO project on elimination of child labourObjective 1: Prevention <strong>and</strong> Elimination of SelectedWorst Forms of Child Labour in the Informal Economy ofDhaka City - Bridging PhaseObjective 2: A time-bound programme for the eliminationof child labour in the urban informal sector in BangladeshObjective 3: Elimination of the Worst Forms of ChildLabour in Bangladesh - A Time-Bound ProgrammeApproachObjective 4: Stipend disbursement programme for theelimination of child labourObjective 5: Country programmes for the elimination ofchild labour in BangladeshObjective 6: Strengthening to combat child labourObjective 7: <strong>Monitoring</strong> to keep Garment Factories ChildLabour FreeObjective 8: Extended comp. of BGMEA-ILO-UNICEF forelimination of CLObjective 9: Continuing the child labour project in thegarment export industry in Bangladesh (BGMEA PhaseIII)EC project on building linkages to combat trafficking <strong>and</strong>exploitation in children <strong>and</strong> adolescentsObjective 1: To combat trafficking <strong>and</strong> exploitation ofchildren <strong>and</strong> adolescents <strong>and</strong> to provide psychosocialrehabilitation for victims <strong>and</strong> to repatriate themObjective 2: To prevent cross-border trafficking ofwomen <strong>and</strong> children in South West Bangladesh/India by supporting regional activities such as research,training <strong>and</strong> increasing community awarenessObjective 3: To combat cross-border trafficking betweenIndia, Nepal <strong>and</strong> Bangladesh through the rights-baseddevelopment of legal <strong>and</strong> social measures <strong>and</strong>rehabilitationABOL-1 M – Child labour [as defined by ICLSresolution] (S)ABOL-2 A – Hazardous child labour (S)30

Element of Decent WorkPriorities <strong>and</strong> Outcomes of the Decent WorkCountry Programme (Table 1)Objectives of Technical Cooperation Programmes(Table 2)Available statistical indicators(Table 5)Stability <strong>and</strong> security of work - - STAB-2 (EMPL-4) M – Informal Employment (S)Equal opportunity <strong>and</strong> treatmentin employment- ILO project on migrants labourObjective 1: Regional seminar on deployment of workersoverseas: challenges to present day migrationEQUA-1 M – Occupational segregation by sex (19)EQUA-2 M – Female share of employment in ISCO-88 groups 11 <strong>and</strong> 12 (19a)EQUA-3 A – Gender wage gapSafe work environmentP1: Promotion of decent <strong>and</strong> productive employment3. Improvement of workers’ rights including OSH inthe RMG, ship-recycling <strong>and</strong> other sectors <strong>and</strong>increase in workplace productivityILO project on safe workObjective 1: Safe <strong>and</strong> environment-friendly ship recyclingSAFE-1 M – Occupational injury rate, fatalSAFE-2 A – Occupational injury rate, non-fatalSAFE-4 A – Labour inspection (inspectors per10,000 employed persons)EC project on poverty <strong>and</strong> working children programmeObjective 1: To improve <strong>and</strong> monitor children's workingconditions, monitor savings, education <strong>and</strong> health, <strong>and</strong> toestablish micro credit programmes for poor families withworking childrenP3.Capacity building of the constituents1. Enhanced capacity of tripartite partners topromote productive <strong>and</strong> decent employmentEC project on promoting rights of the disadvantaged bypreventing violence against womenObjective 1: To improve response to incidences ofviolence against women <strong>and</strong> to promote a more enablingenvironment for the fulfilment of women’s (including sexworkers) dignity <strong>and</strong> right to freedom from gender-basedviolenceSocial security - - SECU-1 M – Share of population aged 65 <strong>and</strong>above benefiting from a pension (S)SECU-2 M – Public social security expenditure (% ofGDP)SECU-3 A – Health-care exp. not financed out ofpocket by private householdsSECU-4 A – Share of population covered by (basic)health care provision31

Element of Decent WorkPriorities <strong>and</strong> Outcomes of the Decent WorkCountry Programme (Table 1)Objectives of Technical Cooperation Programmes(Table 2)Available statistical indicators(Table 5)Social dialogue, workers <strong>and</strong>employers’ representationP3.Capacity building of the constituents1. Enhanced capacity of tripartite partners topromote productive <strong>and</strong> decent employmentILO projects on labour relationsObjective 1: Improving Labour Relations <strong>and</strong> WorkingConditions in Bangladesh Garment IndustryDIAL-1 M – Union density rateDIAL-2 M – Enterprises belonging to employerorganization [rate]DIAL-3 M – Collective bargaining coverage rateDIAL-5 A – Strikes <strong>and</strong> lockouts/rates of days notworkedEconomic <strong>and</strong> social context fordecent work- EC project on rural employment opportunities for publicassets (REOPA)Objective 1: Improving public assets for the benefit ofrural communitiesObjective 2: Strengthening local government institutionsfor better response to pro-poor growthOther donor project on agriculture sector programmeSupport, phase IIObjective 1: Improve living condition of poor, marginal,<strong>and</strong> small farmer households through enhanced,integrated <strong>and</strong> sustainable agricultural productivityObjective 2: Support to Union Parishads is envisagedboth in terms of capacity building <strong>and</strong> facilitation <strong>and</strong>management of user-defined small scale developmentinterventions, establishing dem<strong>and</strong> responsive annualinfrastructure plans <strong>and</strong> guidelines for UP infrastructureplanningObjective 3: Provision of a modest annual block grant tothe Union Parishads is envisaged to support communityactivities or producer groups in the livestock <strong>and</strong>fisheries sectorCONT-1 C – Children not in school (% by age) (S)CONT-2 C – Estimated % of working-age populationwho are HIV positive (S)CONT-3 C – Labour productivity (GDP peremployed person, level <strong>and</strong> growth rate)CONT-4 C – Income inequality (percentile ratioP90/P10, income or consumption)CONT-5 C – Inflation rate (CPI)CONT-6 C – Employment by branch of economicactivityCONT-7 C – Education of adult population (adultliteracy rate, adult secondary-school graduationrate) (S)CONT-9 C (additional) – Real GDP per capita inPPP$ (level <strong>and</strong> growth rate)CONT-10 C (additional) – Female share ofemployment by industry (ISIC tabulation category)CONT-11 C (additional) – Wage / earningsinequality (percentile ratio P90/P10)CONT-12 C (additional) – Poverty indicators (gap<strong>and</strong> rate)Source: Author’s compilation based on Tables 1, 2 <strong>and</strong> 5.32

Table 7.Current gaps in statistics on Decent Work Indicators <strong>and</strong> priorities for future data collectionCurrent Gaps in StatisticsEARN-2 M – Low pay rate (below 2/3 ofmedian hourly earnings) (S)EARN-5 A – Minimum wage as % of medianwageEARN-7 A – Employees with recent jobtraining (past year / past 4 weeks) (S)STAB-1 M – Precarious work (informalemployment)EQUA-3 A – Gender wage gapSAFE-3 A – Time lost due to occupationalinjuriesCONT-8 C – Labour share in GDPRights of migrant workersSkill <strong>and</strong> training levels of the labour forceJob placementSkill mismatchOccupational safety <strong>and</strong> healthNational losses due to strikes <strong>and</strong> lockoutsSource: Author’s compilation.Priorities for Future DataCollectionTo increase coverage of theexisting MES, QWRS <strong>and</strong>/or LFSby BBSTo increase coverage of theexisting MES, QWRS <strong>and</strong>/or LFSby BBSTo increase coverage of theexisting MES <strong>and</strong>/or LFS by BBSTo increase coverage of theforthcoming ISSB by BBSTo improve database of MES,QWRS <strong>and</strong>/or LFS by BBSTo improve database of DOL <strong>and</strong>DIFETo improve coverage of the LFS<strong>and</strong>/or National Accounts by BBSTo compile incidence ofinfringement by BMETTo increase coverage of theexisting LFS by BBSTo revive Employment ExchangeOffices of BMETTo assess skill mismatch by BEF,DTE, BTEB <strong>and</strong> BMETTo collect detailed data onindustrial accidents by DIFETo assess losses due to industrialdisputesPriority Indicators where Data areCollected but Support is Needed inthe Calculation <strong>and</strong> Publication of theIndicatorLabour market data including those ofchild labour <strong>and</strong> pensioners (BBS <strong>and</strong>MOLE)Hours worked <strong>and</strong> wages (BBS) <strong>and</strong>estimates of sectoral minimum wages<strong>and</strong> national minimum wage (MOLE)Training outcome by occupation <strong>and</strong> skillcategory <strong>and</strong> by sex (BMET). DTE <strong>and</strong>BTEB are planning to assess theoutcome of training <strong>and</strong> documentingextent of post-training job placement intheir Annual Reports.Informal employment by nature of work(BBS)Gender wage gap by occupation <strong>and</strong>sector (BBS)Person-days <strong>and</strong> output lost due to lackof OSH (DIFE)Share of industrial labour inmanufacturing GDP (BBS)BMET keeps track of infringement <strong>and</strong>can document the incidenceLabour market data including those ofskill <strong>and</strong> training levels (BBS)District Employment <strong>and</strong> ManpowerOffices of BMET can also coverdomestic employment serviceBenchmark survey of skill mismatch byongoing TVET Reforms ProjectType <strong>and</strong> extent of industrial accidentsby sector <strong>and</strong> division (DIFE)Number of trade union members,federations by sector <strong>and</strong> division,causes <strong>and</strong> settlement of industrialdisputes in Bangladesh Labour Journal(DOL)In addition to the DWI list already included, there are other indicators to consider that arerelevant for the Bangladesh context. Among these are indicators related to migration (especiallyfor overseas employment), skill <strong>and</strong> training levels of the labour force, job placement, skillmismatch <strong>and</strong> the like (Table 7).The priorities <strong>and</strong> needs of the key stakeholders, including the BBS, MOLE, BEF, NCCWE,Planning Commission, <strong>and</strong> others in terms of the collection, analysis <strong>and</strong> dissemination of DWIsare many <strong>and</strong> diverse. According to the MOLE, the strategic priorities of the MOLE are humanresource development <strong>and</strong> labour governance including job training, employment generation <strong>and</strong>job placement. The vision is to reduce unemployment <strong>and</strong> poverty through productive33

employment <strong>and</strong> human resource development by maintaining good industrial relations. Thepriority is reduction of poverty through:(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)creating employment opportunities,creating semi-skilled <strong>and</strong> skilled human resources through establishing technicaltraining centres,enhancing productivity of factories by creating friendly working environmentbetween workers <strong>and</strong> employers,ensuring welfare of workers in different industrial areas,implementing labour laws,determining minimum wages, <strong>and</strong>ensuring justice through labour courts.MOLE notes that the detailed data on the dem<strong>and</strong> for labour is generally missing, while data onthe supply of the workforce by occupation <strong>and</strong> skill category remains very limited.According to BEF, the creation of employment opportunities is one of its priority issues.Employment is the key link between economic growth <strong>and</strong> poverty reduction. The country'spoverty reduction strategy would be sustainable if it is consistent with a well-articulatedemployment strategy that creates productive <strong>and</strong> decent employment opportunities so thatworkers of every level of skill, education <strong>and</strong> training can get remunerative employmentconsistent with universally recognized human <strong>and</strong> labour rights. The decent work agendaprovides such a route to meeting the MDGs in Bangladesh. To create employment opportunitiesthrough investments in different sectors, investors are in need of appropriate data <strong>and</strong>information to make any investment related decision. However, correct statistical data <strong>and</strong>information regarding productive labour force with adequate skill <strong>and</strong> technical background arenot so far available.Concerning adequate earnings <strong>and</strong> productive work, the BEF feels that productivityimprovement <strong>and</strong> competitiveness are priority issues. In Bangladesh, the manufacturing baseremains limited. The chances of job creation in the agriculture sector are also marginal.Employers are in need of data <strong>and</strong> information about wages for critical analysis to take anyinvestment-related decision. However, data <strong>and</strong> information regarding productivity by sector <strong>and</strong>manufacturing wage index by occupation <strong>and</strong> sector are not available.With regard to decent hours, BEF maintains that legal provisions exist to maintain decentworking hours. In respect of work to be abolished, it argues, in Bangladesh, there may be adifference of opinion, but the fact remains that the issue of child labour is deeply linked with theproblem of poverty <strong>and</strong> unequal distribution of wealth. Since poverty of the families of theworking children is the root cause of this problem, poverty alleviation should be made a preconditionfor all child labour elimination measures. The BEF is committed to the national <strong>and</strong>international efforts for elimination of child labour. It continues to take initiatives for eliminationof child labour from the formal as well as other sectors through policy interventions. However,correct data <strong>and</strong> information, particularly statistical information with regard to the hazardouschild labour, is not available.According to the BEF, employment in the formal sector is stable, secure <strong>and</strong> protected by theprevailing laws <strong>and</strong> regulations of the country. It maintains that statistical information aboutinformal employment is unavailable. Regarding equal opportunity <strong>and</strong> treatment in employment,the BEF notes that employers in the formal sector do not discriminate <strong>and</strong> follow equalopportunity <strong>and</strong> treatment in their employment policy <strong>and</strong> service conditions. However, data <strong>and</strong>statistical information with regard to the gender wage gap in the informal sector <strong>and</strong>discrimination by race, ethnicity, of indigenous people, migrant workers, or rural workers are notavailable.34

In relation to a safe work environment, the BEF feels that a safe work environment is one of thepriority issues. The exposure to risks <strong>and</strong> the type <strong>and</strong> level of available protection differ greatlyamong industries, even though the need for protection is felt by persons in all occupations. Allconcerned quarters should work together to implement OSH measures at the workplace as perthe related laws <strong>and</strong> provisions in the country. However, statistical information with regard to theimplementation of OSH measures at the workplaces is partially available. Detailed statisticalinformation concerning time lost due to occupational injuries is unavailable.In addition, the BEF further maintains that adequate social protection is a defining feature ofdecent work around the world. In Bangladesh, for the public sector employees some of the socialsecurity benefit schemes exist. For the employees in the formal private sector some of the benefitschemes are prevalent, though these vary in terms of sectors <strong>and</strong> institutions. Detailedinformation <strong>and</strong> statistical data are not available.The BEF feels that harmonious labour management cooperation is a priority issue forproductivity improvement in any industrial concern. In this regard, legal provisions exist inBangladesh to maintain the fundamental principles <strong>and</strong> protect rights at work. Bipartite socialdialogue <strong>and</strong> work place relations seem to be working fairly. There is a system of fixing wages<strong>and</strong> other benefits through bipartite negotiation in different industries. However, detailed data<strong>and</strong> statistical information in this area are not available. An important dimension of the DecentWork Agenda is the extent to which workers can express themselves on work related matters <strong>and</strong>participate in defining their work conditions.The priorities of NCCWE include the following: (i) stability <strong>and</strong> security of work throughchange in labour laws, improving employment relationships (e.g. issuing appointment letters)<strong>and</strong> skill adaptation; (ii) employment information <strong>and</strong> job placement; (iii) OSH <strong>and</strong> generalhealth in new industrial areas; <strong>and</strong> (iv) employment generation. Data gaps <strong>and</strong> needs noted byNCCWE include: (a) job opportunities, <strong>and</strong> (b) skill inventory for both dem<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> supply oflabour. It suggests (i) a complete census of hazardous child labour by sectors, (ii) dem<strong>and</strong>orientedtraining for the unemployed, (iii) revival of erstwhile Employment Exchange Offices,<strong>and</strong> (iv) support to the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies for undertaking studies on decentwork <strong>and</strong> the labour market.The Planning Commission mainly outsources its priority data needs. Policy priorities of thePlanning Commission encompasses: (i) poverty reduction through productive employment, (ii)labour-intensive industrialization <strong>and</strong> development of small <strong>and</strong> medium-sized enterprises(SMEs), (iii) development of public-private partnership <strong>and</strong> promotion of FDI, (iv) increase inoverseas employment to generate more remittances, <strong>and</strong> (v) dem<strong>and</strong>-oriented TVET.The BBS is the only national statistical institution responsible for collecting, compiling <strong>and</strong>disseminating statistical data of all the sectors of the Bangladesh economy to meet data needs ofthe users for national planning <strong>and</strong> formulating policies by the Government. The role of the BBSin providing necessary statistics for preparing the various national plans, policies <strong>and</strong>programmes for the overall development of the country is most significant in filling the datagaps. In recent years, it has accorded priority to all kinds of labour statistics particularly relatingto DWIs.The policy priorities of BTEB, DTE <strong>and</strong> BMET include: (i) development of life skills of youngpeople, (ii) training of the trainers, (iii) linking training with employment, <strong>and</strong> (iv) monitoringprogress in post-training jobs for which currently there is no information. Short-term strategicpriorities of BMET include: (i) awareness raising campaign for potential, aspiring migrantworkers, (ii) exploring new avenues of overseas market, (iii) creation of facilities for emigration,(iv) skill training programme, (v) counselling programme for the returnee migrants, <strong>and</strong> (vi) onestopservice to extend need-based information. Long-term strategic priorities of BMETencompass: (a) adopting a comprehensive project on overall development of migration35

management, (b) data collection <strong>and</strong> analysis, (c) ICT application, (d) institutional support, (e)policy support, (f) addressing impact of climate change on migration, <strong>and</strong> (g) survey/study onfemale migration.It follows that these priorities <strong>and</strong> needs of various organizations cannot be treated in isolation.Instead, they need to be brought together under a common platform. It is necessary that all thestakeholders participate in listing all the data needs <strong>and</strong> availability <strong>and</strong> work out a common<strong>and</strong>/or complementary database in order to fill the respective data gaps. This requires capacitybuilding of all the stakeholders in generating <strong>and</strong> documenting required data on a regular <strong>and</strong>sustainable basis. Data can be seen to have two principal properties: a data type whichcorresponds to the kind of values which are stored, <strong>and</strong> dimensionality which defines how thevalues are arranged to augment the usefulness of data.5.1. Key issues related to data <strong>and</strong> information gapsrelated to decent workData gaps <strong>and</strong> deficits are threatening as a lack of information can undermine <strong>and</strong> reverse anygains in advancing decent work. Promoting decent work is even more challenging <strong>and</strong> necessary,where many jobs do not ensure decent levels of income or sustainable livelihoods, workingconditions are poor, labour legislation is poorly enforced <strong>and</strong> social dialogue is weak. The mostsocially vulnerable <strong>and</strong> the least organized are those with lower salaries <strong>and</strong> those more likely tosuffer discrimination in terms of access to opportunities <strong>and</strong> to effective forms of social security<strong>and</strong> protection. Many of them are also employed under poor health, safety <strong>and</strong> environmentalconditions. Youth unemployment has risen faster than overall unemployment. Young people (15-29 years) are nearly twice as likely to be unemployed than the national average (BBS, 2008a).There is a pressing need for jobs-led growth sufficient to strengthen the economy so as toachieve decent work for women <strong>and</strong> men, <strong>and</strong> absorb new labour market entrants.It is almost universally recognized that pro-poor growth through decent work is central toachieving the MDGs. For all intents <strong>and</strong> purposes, employment <strong>and</strong> decent work are legitimate<strong>and</strong> fundamental goals in their own right, <strong>and</strong> are not the automatic by-products of growth. Thisrecognition led to the inclusion in 2005 of a new MDG Target (1.B): “achieving full <strong>and</strong>productive employment <strong>and</strong> decent work for all, including women <strong>and</strong> young people”. It isessential for promoting the eradication of extreme poverty <strong>and</strong> hunger (MDG 1), the largest inscope of all the MDGs. Without the decent work target, it is unlikely that the other MDGs can beachieved or that growth will bring about social progress. Failure to achieve one goal jeopardizesall the others.Rapid gains from decent work are possible through the implementation of coherent policies <strong>and</strong>broad partnerships in broadening <strong>and</strong> enriching the knowledge base. Successful programmes,especially employment-intensive initiatives, promotion of SMEs, employment guaranteeschemes <strong>and</strong> conditional cash transfers, have yielded remarkable results in reducing poverty <strong>and</strong>should be more widely replicated <strong>and</strong> scaled up to cover larger parts of the population, especiallyin the rural areas.Policymakers have to make decent work central to national development <strong>and</strong> poverty reductionstrategies. The application of management tools that support the assessment <strong>and</strong> optimization ofthe effects of policies <strong>and</strong> programmes incorporating decent work is a positive step towardsbridging these policy gaps. The rights of the poor to organize, especially through freedom ofassociation, is essential to ensure that their collective voice is heard in policy development <strong>and</strong>implementation. Similarly, donors need to align their policies with national, country-owned,poverty reduction strategies.36

A number of critical gaps have proved serious obstacles to reaching full employment <strong>and</strong> decentwork targets. The rural-urban <strong>and</strong> gender gaps need to be addressed with urgency in order tocreate sound employment policies that contribute to Target 1.B. Rural areas host some 80 percent of the country’s poor <strong>and</strong> suffer from a wide range of decent work deficits: higher rates ofunemployment <strong>and</strong> underemployment, especially among young people <strong>and</strong> women; limited or nosocial protection; some 75 per cent of working children are found in agriculture; <strong>and</strong> wageworkers who are mostly temporary or casual. Rapid rural-to-urban migration is occurring aspeople seek jobs. A bulk of the urban population, however, operates in the informal economy,without security of tenure.Information deficits contributing to policy gaps are impeding the attainment of the MDGs <strong>and</strong>have exacerbated its impact. Securing employment, addressing income inequalities <strong>and</strong> ensuringadequate social protection should be central pillars of the policy response to the decent workchallenges. Less than 20 per cent of the country’s population has adequate social securitycoverage <strong>and</strong> more than 80 per cent of the population have virtually no coverage at all. Policygaps can be addressed through the systematic linkage of MDG targets <strong>and</strong> timelines, <strong>and</strong> byincorporating the four components of decent work as elements that provide an all-encompassingapproach to labour-related policies.A critical obstacle to the achievement of MDG Target 1.B is the poor capacity of the institutionsto deliver services efficiently <strong>and</strong> implement policies effectively. The challenge is to reach largeparts of the population <strong>and</strong> have a measurable impact on national outcomes. Weak institutionsare unable to scale up programmes successfully, inform or train people, provide them with skillsor education, generate employment opportunities, increase gender awareness, or provide healthrelatedinformation <strong>and</strong> services. The strengthening of human capital needs to be accompaniedby improved service delivery <strong>and</strong> better public sector governance in which information is lackingsignificantly.Accurate <strong>and</strong> detailed data on employment trends is even more urgently needed. Detailed data<strong>and</strong> regular information on employment, rights, social protection <strong>and</strong> social dialoguedisaggregated by gender are central to decent work-led policy development <strong>and</strong> the MAPProject. They may be designed to be clear <strong>and</strong> straightforward to interpret <strong>and</strong> provide a basis forinternational comparisons. Figures on productivity <strong>and</strong> employment growth in particular are ofmajor relevance to poverty, since they provide valuable feedback on whether the developmentprocess is heading in the right direction (ILO, 2009). Efforts by the government should placemajor emphasis on employment generation <strong>and</strong> income support to workers <strong>and</strong> families, <strong>and</strong>stimulate social dialogue <strong>and</strong> consultations with business <strong>and</strong> labour on measures to respond tothe challenge. This has far reaching implications for the achievement of the decent work targets.Effective implementation of DWCP <strong>and</strong> technical cooperation projects requires a soundinformation base to monitor implementation, collective response <strong>and</strong> close collaboration betweenthe government, employers <strong>and</strong> workers with a view to improving policy coherence <strong>and</strong>international coordination. Achieving full employment <strong>and</strong> decent work for all is a majorchallenge that requires not only a renewed commitment from all the stakeholders, but alsopersistent efforts centred on quality jobs, sustainable enterprises, excellent public services, <strong>and</strong>social protection, while safeguarding rights <strong>and</strong> promoting voice <strong>and</strong> participation which are verylittle known <strong>and</strong> even less understood.The rationale for planned job creation in an economy is to resolve the mismatch between thedem<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> supply of the labour market created by market imperfections. In order to framepolicies for job creation, it is critical to underst<strong>and</strong> what characterizes this mismatch <strong>and</strong> how toaddress those characteristics so that the mismatches are minimized. The strategic objectivetherefore should be to identify what interventions are necessary on the part of the government toreduce the incidence of unemployment <strong>and</strong> underemployment in the economy. It calls for37

extensive evidence-based research on the labour market issues at the aggregate, household aswell as individual levels in cross-sections <strong>and</strong> over time.Labour market research in Bangladesh is limited by lack of adequate labour market information<strong>and</strong> database system. However, constructing a comprehensive database may not necessarily payoff in terms of research output <strong>and</strong> policy guidelines. It is rather advisable to find researchpriorities <strong>and</strong> come up with an effective survey design <strong>and</strong> an economic set of data points thatwould be instrumental in arriving at the policy implications. With this end in view, one can thinkof several important regularities as well as peculiarities of the labour market in Bangladesh thatshould be taken into account in designing the data collection process.First, while unemployment is usually viewed as an indicator of labour market performance, inBangladesh, underemployment is no less of a problem primarily because the poorest peoplecannot afford to remain unemployed for the sake of their survival. Hence, job creation shouldhave the objective not only of providing new jobs, but also of exp<strong>and</strong>ing capacity to employadditional hours of those who are underemployed. The existing database, however, does notallow one to fully distinguish the underemployed from the fully employed. The LFS shouldcollect information on the indicators of underemployment, such as, actual daily/weekly/monthlyhours an individual is employed, the number of hours he/she is willing <strong>and</strong> able to work, thenumber of jobs an individual is working at simultaneously, the actual <strong>and</strong> expected earning ofindividuals <strong>and</strong> households, <strong>and</strong> most importantly, in what capacity an individual isunderemployed. Analysis of the indicators of underemployment would allow one to identify theexisting labour supply capacity of the economy that is readily available but underutilized. Giventhe background <strong>and</strong> labour market experience of the underemployed, we can identify the sectorswhere employment capacity needs to be exp<strong>and</strong>ed to absorb this underutilized resource.Second, the expansion of employment capacity of the employers is, however, limited by thedem<strong>and</strong> side of the labour market, such as productivity <strong>and</strong> aggregate dem<strong>and</strong> for output in themarket on which there is no information. So, while in the short run, one can think of exp<strong>and</strong>ingemployment capacity within the existing structure of employment, it may not necessarily workout in the medium or long run. One needs to identify the inadequacies of skill <strong>and</strong>competitiveness of the labour market participants as dem<strong>and</strong>ed by the employers for whichadequate information is necessary. Then resources can be channelled to those areas foreducation, training <strong>and</strong> skill formation of labour market participants. It is a medium to long-runconsideration because there is a time lag between the formation of skill <strong>and</strong> the use of it ingainful <strong>and</strong> appropriate employment suitable to the acquired skill.Third, mismatches between the capacities on the dem<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> supply side as discussed above areconditional on the state of technology <strong>and</strong> labour market structure in the economy. A long-termperspective would have to consider the possibilities of technological <strong>and</strong> structural change thatinvolve destruction of jobs on the one side <strong>and</strong> creation of jobs on the other. The major economicsectors in Bangladesh are in transition from an agrarian base to small-scale, non-farm base <strong>and</strong>from rural to urban centres. As a result, the nature of jobs is reshaping <strong>and</strong> labour resource is incontinuous flux. Under these circumstances, individuals’ skill <strong>and</strong> knowledge require routineupgrading <strong>and</strong> job market uncertainty mounts. These are the structural challenges driven bymarket forces <strong>and</strong> are considered necessary for the growth <strong>and</strong> advancement of an economy. Therole of the government in this situation is to disseminate information <strong>and</strong> knowledge about newemployment opportunities <strong>and</strong> required skills, <strong>and</strong> create institutions <strong>and</strong> human capital base tohelp labour market participants cope with the changing <strong>and</strong> challenging job environment. This isparticularly important because without adequate skills, the labour market entrants cannot seizethe job opportunities even if jobs are available in the market.The time perspective in the abovementioned three-fold strategies for the short, medium <strong>and</strong> longrun calls for dynamic analysis of the dem<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> supply side of the labour market scenario onwhich very little information is available. It would involve collection of both cross-sectional <strong>and</strong>38

longitudinal data of, among others: (i) individual characteristics (e.g. qualifications, experience,background) that determine the employability, labour force participation, occupation,productivity <strong>and</strong> wage; (ii) employment history of the employed (retrospective <strong>and</strong> longitudinal);(iii) employer specific information of the employed (e.g. name <strong>and</strong> tenure); (iv) individual <strong>and</strong>joint labour supply decision making of the household members; (v) job search mechanism; (vi)mix of wage employment <strong>and</strong> self-employment; <strong>and</strong> (vii) indicators of underemployment. Fromthe employer side, the information that needs to be collected include: (a) size of employment, (b)hiring mechanism, (c) levels of output <strong>and</strong> factors of production, <strong>and</strong> (d) technology.The choice of sample firms needs to be based on a multi-stage stratified sampling design, wherethe strata can be determined by the type <strong>and</strong> level of the clientele group <strong>and</strong> patrons in the jobsearch <strong>and</strong> hiring process that lead to the matching of employers <strong>and</strong> employees. For example,the search of jobs at the armed forces <strong>and</strong> hiring are done between two parties who are at adifferent stratum from those who are involved in the job search <strong>and</strong> hiring process of privatecontractors. The idea of stratification here is to represent all types of jobs available inBangladesh for people at all socio-economic strata. This would, of course, require anenumeration of the types of jobs categorized by sector, pay, type of labour required (manualversus physical), minimum level of qualification, <strong>and</strong> the like. This type of functionalclassification of jobs is unavailable in the current household surveys.New labour market information that could support employers include: (i) labour forcecomposition which enables employers to see new trends (data can be used to identify industrytrends, e.g. the age of the workforce to better inform training decisions); (ii) earnings patterns forworkers in industry <strong>and</strong> in the local labour market (new data can also help inform employersabout local labour market conditions: (a) how much new hires – of different ages – are earning,(b) the earnings of incumbent workers, <strong>and</strong> (c) the relationship between the two – one potentialmeasure of labour market shortages); <strong>and</strong> (iii) labour market dynamics, e.g. turnover rates <strong>and</strong>job change (employers often wonder whether their turnover rates are similar to those in theirindustry). These data on turnover rates should be disaggregated by (a) locality, (b) industry, (c)age, <strong>and</strong> (d) sex.Going beyond the descriptive cross tabulations of participation <strong>and</strong> employment rates by year,skill level, <strong>and</strong> sex, this information should simultaneously take into account the effects of time,age, <strong>and</strong> birth cohort membership. The results will allow for the construction <strong>and</strong> comparison ofgender <strong>and</strong> skill specific life cycle participation <strong>and</strong> employment profiles. Even though the gap inthe observed average participation <strong>and</strong> employment rates has widened <strong>and</strong> narrowed over time,the results will confirm a persistent gender gap in the pattern of labour market participation <strong>and</strong>employment over the life cycle.A critical question for social security policy is how programme incentives affect retirementbehaviour. No data are available to examine the impact of social security incentives on maleretirement. Forward-looking incentive measures for social security are significant determinantsof retirement decisions, but information on such measures are not available. Social securitypolicies which increase the incentives to work at older ages can significantly reduce the exit rateof older workers from the labour force.Employability is central to the current strategic direction. It is about having the capability to gaininitial employment, maintain employment <strong>and</strong> obtain new employment if required. For theindividual, employability depends on: (i) their assets in terms of the knowledge, skills <strong>and</strong>attitudes they possess; (ii) the way they use <strong>and</strong> deploy those assets; (iii) the way they presentthem to employers; <strong>and</strong> (iv) crucially, the context (e.g. personal circumstances <strong>and</strong> labour marketenvironment) within which they seek work. The balance of importance between <strong>and</strong> within eachelement will vary for groups of individuals, depending on their relationship to the labour market(Hillage <strong>and</strong> Pollard, 1998).39

In Bangladesh, Government policy is aimed more: (a) at the development <strong>and</strong> accreditation ofknowledge <strong>and</strong> vocational skills than at the ‘softer’ skills <strong>and</strong> attitudes; (b) on the demonstrationof assets than their deployment – particularly for adults (e.g. lack of provision of a careereducation <strong>and</strong> guidance service for adults); (c) at individuals looking to enter the labour market(e.g. from education or unemployment) than within; <strong>and</strong> (d) on the individual <strong>and</strong> the supply sidethan on employers <strong>and</strong> the dem<strong>and</strong> side (i.e. the labour market contextual factors).5.2. Priorities for action on data <strong>and</strong> information gapsrelated to decent workFor raising the skill profile of the existing workforce, especially at lower levels to boostflexibility <strong>and</strong> competitiveness, there are a number of potential priority groups including: (a)labour market entrants, (b) labour market re-entrants, (c) disadvantaged groups, <strong>and</strong> (d) insecureor under-utilized employees, where different policies may need to be targeted according todifferent circumstances. For employers the priorities might be to help key groups of staff todevelop both those assets which have explicit, immediate value to the organization as well asthose transferable ones which have a wider, longer-term value, thereby engendering a sense ofsecurity, encouraging commitment, risk-taking <strong>and</strong> flexibility among employees. For theindividual the need is to boost those aspects of their employability which will most enhance theiropportunities in the light of their circumstances. To this end, adequate data <strong>and</strong> information onthese variables should be generated.Employability, so viewed, provides a basis for analyzing the policies affecting the employabilityof certain groups (e.g. 15-17 year old school leavers), or conversely how major policy initiativesimpact on employability. This policy orientation may reflect a variety of factors such asdifficulties in defining, assessing <strong>and</strong> verifying “soft skills”, <strong>and</strong> difficulties identifying <strong>and</strong>accessing specific groups of employees at which to target limited resources. Thus some keyquestions for future policy interventions include: (a) who are the priority groups; (b) where arethe most serious gaps for such groups in relation to assets, dimensions of deployment orpresentational skills; (c) how these gaps might best be remedied, <strong>and</strong> (d) which of the arms ofpublic policy are best placed to add such value <strong>and</strong> how through interventions.Whatever the interventions, they need to be evaluated so that lessons can be fed back into furtherimprovements <strong>and</strong> to the decision to continue with, change or stop such interventions. Potentialmeasures include collection <strong>and</strong> dissemination of those information relating to: (i) inputmeasures, e.g. possession of vocational qualifications, or the receipt of career managementtraining; (ii) perception measures, e.g. the views of employers <strong>and</strong> the workforce of theiremployability; <strong>and</strong> (iii) outcome measures, e.g. the speed at which people are able to get jobs or“measurements of failure”, e.g. the numbers or proportion of people with difficulty finding orkeeping work, or the number of job changes, however defined. Obviously there is room for somecombination of all three. Whatever route is chosen, it is important to take account of the overallstate of the labour market <strong>and</strong> how it is changing, to take account of any dead-weight effect <strong>and</strong>assess value addition.Employability is a two-sided equation <strong>and</strong> many individuals need various forms of support toovercome the physical <strong>and</strong> mental barriers to learning <strong>and</strong> development (i.e. updating theirassets). Employability is not just about vocational <strong>and</strong> academic skills. Individuals need relevant<strong>and</strong> usable labour market information to help them make informed decisions about the labourmarket options available to them. They may also need support to realize when such informationwould be useful, <strong>and</strong> to interpret that information <strong>and</strong> turn it into intelligence. Finally, peoplealso need the opportunities to do things differently, to access relevant training <strong>and</strong>, mostcrucially, employment. The review of the literature <strong>and</strong> discussions raised a number of areas ofpotential interest for further research. These include (a) the balance between the components of40

employability, (b) whether there are any minimum levels of employability, (c) the unskilledlabour market, <strong>and</strong> (d) overcoming employability deficits (Hillage <strong>and</strong> Pollard, 1998).In Bangladesh, gaps in information on labour market regulations <strong>and</strong> employment policies figureprominently. In the policy priorities, the employment strategy has three primary objectives:achieving full employment, increasing productivity <strong>and</strong> the quality at work, <strong>and</strong> promotingcohesion. The issues involve more flexibility in the labour markets, while providing workerswith appropriate levels of security: Flexibility is not only in the interest of employers but also ofworkers, as they can then more easily combine work with care, education or free-timepreferences. To this end, these various aspects point to the need for stronger data <strong>and</strong> informationin these areas.By <strong>and</strong> large, reducing existing gaps in data on Decent Work Indicators remains a greatchallenge in Bangladesh. All the ILO constituents <strong>and</strong> other stakeholders of decent work need torespond to this challenge collectively. The response strategy needs to incorporate suitablemodules in the existing surveys <strong>and</strong> other sources, <strong>and</strong> the development of new data collectiontools in light of data gaps <strong>and</strong> deficits for each of the Decent Work Indicator.A process needs to be put in place to institutionalize <strong>and</strong> make operational the consolidation of anational DWI database, which should be readily <strong>and</strong> publicly accessible. The MOLE in closecollaboration with BBS should ideally be responsible as the lead agency in this regard. Thisrequires capacity building of both the MOLE <strong>and</strong> BBS, along with technical <strong>and</strong> financialassistance.41

Annex I.Presentation of labour force survey1. Title of survey… Labour Force Survey2. Organization responsible for most recent survey… Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)3. Date of most recent survey... 2005-064. Date of publication of report of the most recent survey... April 2008 (if pending, indicate expected date)5. Type of publication: paper internet, specify websiteaddress… www.bbs.gov.bd6. Date of next survey … 2009-20107. PeriodicityData collectionmonthlyquarterlytwice a yearannually8. Coverageother, please, specify… At different timeintervalsa. Population groupsMinimum age... 0-4Maximum age… 65+Exclusion of institutional households(army, prison, etc.) No Yes,specify:…Specify exclusion of any other specificpopulation groups (e.g. migrant workers):b. Dissemination of resultsmonthlyquarterlytwice a yearannuallyother, please, specify… Two-yearintervalb. Geographical coveragewhole countrywhole country, excluding…urban onlyrural onlyother, please, specify…42

9. Topics coveredeconomically active populationemploymentunemploymenttime-related underemploymenthours of work per reference periodactual hours workedusual hours workedother, please,specify… Average weekly hoursworked/average hoursworkedemployment income: wages, salaries <strong>and</strong>self-employment incomeemployment tenureoccasional / casual wage workersindustryoccupationstatus in employmenteducational levelsecondary jobsemployment in informal economyemployment in informal sectorchild labourpovertysafe worksocial securitytrainingother, please, specify...duration of unemploymentdiscouraged workers10. Concepts <strong>and</strong> classifications used in the most recent surveya. Economically active populationcurrent economic activity (Labour force framework)usual economic activityAre definitions consistent with the ICLS 1982 resolution? No YesAny other comment...b. Status in employmentemployeesDifferentiation between regular employees <strong>and</strong> casual/temporary or short-term/seasonal workers? NoYes, specify groups:…employersown-account workersmembers of producers’ cooperativescontributing family workersworkers not classifiable by statusothers, please, specify:.. regular paid employee, irregular paid worker, day labour agriculture, daylabour non-agriculture, domestic worker/maid servant, paid/unpaid apprenticec. Occupations.Direct use of ISCO classificationISCO-08 ISCO-88 ISCO-68Use of a specific national classification of occupations?not related to ISCObased on or consistent with:43

ISCO-08 ISCO-88 ISCO-68d. IndustriesDirect use of ISIC classificationISIC Rev.4 (2008) ISIC Rev.3.1 (2002)ISIC Rev.3 (1990) ISIC Rev.2 (1968)Use of a specific national classification of industries?not related to ISICbased on or consistent with:ISIC Rev.4 (2008) ISIC Rev.3.1 (2002)ISIC Rev.3 (1990) ISIC Rev.2 (1968)11. Measurement (Labour force framework)a. Employmenti. One hour criterion for employment used? No Yes If no, specify criterion…ii. Reference period for employment:last daylast weeklast four weeksother, please, specify…iii. Identification of economic activity:use of activity listuse of prompt with example of what constitutes workb. Unemploymenti. Question on availability to work included: No YesIf yes: Reference period for availability to work:Same as for employmentDifferent from employmentnext weeknext two weeksnext four weeksother, please, specify: …ii. Question on seeking work included: No YesIf yes: Reference period for seeking work:Same as for employmentDifferent from employmentlast weeklast two weekslast four weeksother, please, specify: …44

12. Survey design (most recent survey)a. Sample designSingle stage samplingSpecify sampling unit: households individualsMulti stageFirst stage sampling unit (Specify) … Primary Sampling Units (PSUs)Ultimate sampling unit households individualsb. Sample frame, including date ... Population Census, 2001c. Sample size … 40,000 householdsd. Non Response rate… 27.53e. Questionnaire designl<strong>and</strong>scape questionnaire individual questionnaires a combination of bothf. Language of questionnaireOriginal version … BengaliOther versions (list all languages) …Oral translation during interviews: No Yes, specify languages: ….g. Data collection methodface-to-face interviewsself-completed questionnaire (mail or drop-off)phone interviewsother, please, specify …h. Use of proxy respondents (e.g. head of household provides answer for absent household members)No Yes13. Available series (most recent survey)Employment to population ratioUnemployment rateYouth not in employment <strong>and</strong> not ineducationInformal employmentLabour force participation rateWorking poorLow pay rate (below 2/3 of medianhourly earnings)Average hourly earningsAverage real wagesEmployees with recent job trainingExcessive hours (more than 48 hoursper week, usual hours)Usual hours worked (st<strong>and</strong>ardizedSeriesavailableSex Age Status inemploymentAvailable disaggregationsIndustryRural /urbanareasOther:.45

hour b<strong>and</strong>s)Annual hours worked per employedpersonTime-related underemployment rateChild labourHazardous child labourFemale share of employment inISCO-88 major group 1Gender wage gapShare of population aged 65 <strong>and</strong>above benefiting from a pensionShare of population covered by(basic) health care provision…………14. Data access policyanonymized data file is available to general public (e.g. posted on website)anonymized data file is available to specialized audience on applicationmicro-data is not generally made availableother data access policy, please, specify …46

Annex II. Presentation of key establishment survey1. Title of survey … Survey of Manufacturing Industries (formerly up to 2001-02 Census of ManufacturingIndustries)2. Organization responsible for survey … Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics3. Date of survey ... 2005-064. Date of publication of report of survey ... March 2010 (expected) (if still pending, indicate expected date)5. Type of publicationPaper Internet, website address www.bbs.gov.bd6. Date of next survey ... 2008-097. PeriodicityData collectionmonthlyquarterlytwice a yearannuallyother, please, specify… Three-yearlyb. Dissemination of resultsmonthlyquarterlytwice a yearannuallyother, please, specify… Fouryearly8. Coverage:a. Geographicalwhole countrywhole country, excluding...other, please, specify…b. IndustriesA - Agriculture, hunting <strong>and</strong> forestryB - FishingC - Mining <strong>and</strong> quarryingD - ManufacturingE - Electricity, gas <strong>and</strong> water supplyF - ConstructionG - Wholesale <strong>and</strong> retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, etc.H - Hotels <strong>and</strong> restaurantsI - Transport, storage <strong>and</strong> communicationsJ - Financial intermediationK - Real estate, renting <strong>and</strong> business activitiesL - Public administration <strong>and</strong> defence; compulsory social securityM - EducationN - Health <strong>and</strong> social workO - Other community, social <strong>and</strong> personal service activitiesP - Activities of private households as employers <strong>and</strong> undifferentiatedIncluded Excluded47

production activities of private householdsQ - Extraterritorial organizations <strong>and</strong> bodiesc. Institutional sectorIncluded Excludedprivate registered establishmentprivate unregistered establishmentgovernmentparastatalsd. Establishmentsallall registered establishmentsminimum number of employeesMinimum… 10 for industry … ManufacturingMinimum… for industry …Minimum… for industry …other, please, specify :9. Topics coveredemploymentemployment income: wages, salaries <strong>and</strong> selfemploymentincomebonus includedbonus excludedsocial security contributionspensionscollective bargaininghours of workvacancieslabour costcost of inputsvalue of outputtrainingother, please, specify ... Grossvalue added <strong>and</strong> value added atfactor cost, number of casualworkers, ownership status, fixedassets by category, inventory ofphysical assets, cost <strong>and</strong> quantity offuel consumed, indirect taxes etc.10. Concepts <strong>and</strong> classifications used in the most recent surveya. Employment. (see definition on http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/class/icse.htm)Data includes:casual/temporary employeesregular employeesworking proprietorsother, please, specify …b. Labour cost (see definition in ILO: Current international recommendations on labour statistics(Geneva, 2000))48

compensation of employeeswagesother, please, specifytraining costsother, please, specify…c. Earnings (see ILCS, 2000).Reference periodyear month week hour other, please, specify…Includes:wages/salariesovertime paymentsbonus paymentsother, please, specify….d. Hours of work (see definitions in ICLS-R-[2008-12-0006-6]-En.doc/v3)hours actually workedhours paid fornormal hours of workcontractual hours of workhours usually workedovertime hours of workabsence from work hourse. Occupations.Direct use of ISCO classificationISCO-08 ISCO-88 ISCO-68Use of a specific national classification of occupations?not related to ISCObased on or consistent with:ISCO-08 ISCO-88 ISCO-68f. IndustriesDirect use of ISIC classificationISIC Rev.4 (2008) ISIC Rev.3.1 (2002)ISIC Rev.3 (1990) ISIC Rev.2 (1968)Use of a specific national classification of industries?not related to ISICbased on or consistent with:ISIC Rev.4 (2008) ISIC Rev.3.1 (2002)ISIC Rev.3 (1990) ISIC Rev.2 (1968)49

11. Data collectionaggregate level with sex disaggregationaggregate level without sex disaggregationindividualised with information on sexindividualised without information on sex12. Survey design (most recent survey)CensusSample surveySampling unit … Establishment where production of goods <strong>and</strong> services take place.Sample frame, including date … Directory of manufacturing establishments compiled fromthe economic census of 1986.Sample design … Manufacturing establishments were classified as large (50+ persons)<strong>and</strong> medium (10-49 persons) establishments on the basis of number of persons engaged.13. Available series (most recent survey)Number of regular full time employeesEarningsHours of workAnnual hours worked per employedpersonEmployees covered by social securityEmployees covered by employerfunded pension contributionEmployees covered by collectivebargainingSeriesavailableSex Age Status inemploymentAvailable disaggregationsIndustryRural /urbanareasOther:District14. Data access policyanonymized data file is available to general public (e.g. posted on website)anonymized data file is available to specialized audience on applicationmicro-data is not generally made availableother data access policy, please, specify... Published report available for purchase.50

Annex III. Presentation of key administrative database1. Title of database … Annual Report2. Organization responsible … Ministry of Labour <strong>and</strong> Employment3. Periodicity of updatingdailyweeklymonthlyad hocother, please, specify... Annually4. Main purpose:internal administrationservice informationvocational guidancetraining possibilitiesjob placementinformation on labour marketopportunities for self-employmentcompensationswork permitsstatisticalother, please, specify…5. Unit of each record … Annual6. Coveragea. Geographicalwhole countrywhole country, excluding….urban onlyrural onlyother, please, specify…b. Institutional sectors (in terms of workers)governmentparastatalprivate registered establishmentprivate unregistered establishmentother, please, specify…not applicable7. Topics coveredemploymentjob-seekersvacanciessocial securitycollective bargainingoccupational injuriesoccupational diseasescompensationsindustrial relationstrade unionsemployers51

8. Data collectedoccupationindustrydemographic informationeducational levelcountry of originlength of residencewages offered/desiredpensions contributionpension payment/other benefitsfatal injuriesnon-fatal injuriesstrikesdays lost (strikes)other stoppagescourt casestype of dispute (court cases)collective bargaining agreementscoveragedetails of collective agreementsother, please, specify...courses/training available in institutionsother, please, specify …compensationdays lost (non-fatal injuries)9. Sourceindividualsenterprise informationnewspapersother, please, specify …. Information about the activities of the MOLE10. Disseminationa. Frequencymonthlyquarterlytwice a yearannuallyother, please, specify …b. Form of disseminationprintedonline, please specifywebsite address… www.mole.gov.bd/ann_report11. Main user groupsgeneral publicinvestorsresearchersgovernmentother, please, specify …52

ReferencesBangladesh Bureau of Statistics. 2003. Population Census 2001 (Dhaka).—. 2008a. Report on Labour Force Survey 2005-06 (Dhaka, April).—. 2007a. Report on Household Income <strong>and</strong> Expenditure Survey 2005 (Dhaka, May).—. 2007b. Report on Census of Manufacturing Industries 2001-02 (Dhaka, April).—. 2007c. Report on Annual Establishments <strong>and</strong> Institutions Survey 2002-03 (Dhaka, July).—. 2007d. Report on Pilot Wage Survey 2007 (Dhaka, July).—. 2007e. Report on Social Safety Net Programs 2007 (Dhaka, December).—. 2006a. Report on Measuring Decent Work Indicators Pilot Survey 2005 (Dhaka, October).—. 2006b. Baseline Survey for Determining Hazardous Child Labour Sectors in Bangladesh2005 (Dhaka, July).—. 2004. Report of the Poverty <strong>Monitoring</strong> Survey 2004 (Dhaka, December).Bangladesh Technical Education Board. 2009. Annual Report 2007-2008 (Dhaka, February).Department of Labour. 2009. Bangladesh Labour Journal 2008, Volume 28 (Dhaka).Directorate of Technical Education. 2007. Annual Report 2006 (Dhaka, June).Dunn, K.; Mondal, A. 2009. Report on the Review of the Decent Work Country Programme:Bangladesh 2006-2009 (Dhaka, ILO).Hillage, J.; Pollard, E. 1998. Employability: Developing a Framework for Policy Analysis,Research Report RR85 (Brighton, UK, Department for Education <strong>and</strong> Employment, The Institutefor Employment Studies, November).International Labour Office. 2009. Guide to the Millennium Development Goals EmploymentIndicators: Including the Full Decent Work Indicator Set (Geneva).—. 2008. Bangladesh Decent Work Country Programme 2006-2009 (Geneva, March).Ministry of Labour <strong>and</strong> Employment. 2009. Annual Report, 2006-07 (Dhaka).National Institute for Population Research <strong>and</strong> Training et al. 2009. Bangladesh Demographic<strong>and</strong> Health Survey 2007 (Dhaka, Ministry of Health <strong>and</strong> Family Welfare).Planning Commission. 2008b. Moving Ahead: National Strategy for Accelerated PovertyReduction II (FY 2009-11) (Dhaka, October).53

ILO/EC Project “<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong>on Decent Work” (MAP)<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> assessing progress towards decent work is a longst<strong>and</strong>ingconcern for the ILO <strong>and</strong> its constituents. Implemented by theILO with funding from the European Union, the project “<strong>Monitoring</strong><strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> on Decent Work” (MAP) helps to addressthis need. Over a period of four years (2009 to 2013), the projectworks with Ministries of Labour, National Statistical Offices, otherGovernment agencies, Workers’ <strong>and</strong> Employers’ organisations <strong>and</strong>research institutions to strengthen the capacity of developing <strong>and</strong>transition countries to self-monitor <strong>and</strong> self-assess progress towardsdecent work. The project facilitates the identification of Decent WorkIndicators in line with national priorities; supports data collection; <strong>and</strong>assists in the analysis of data on decent work in order to make themrelevant for policy makers. The MAP publication series disseminatesproject outputs to a broad audience in the ten countries covered by theproject <strong>and</strong> beyond.For more information on the ILO/EC Project “<strong>Monitoring</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Assessing</strong> <strong>Progress</strong>on Decent Work” (MAP) see http://www.ilo.org/mapISBN 978-92-2-123853-99 789221 238539