A weekly round up of articles about employment, the labor market, skills training and workforce development. This week’s round up is drawn from The Daily Star. Here is the news for the week ending 22 February 2018.
This week in the Bangladesh English Press…
…we hear about new venture capital financing and about changes in informal employment. Accord reports on remediation in the garment sector. And the International Labour Organization urges Bangladesh to ensure that the Bangladesh Labour Act and the Bangladesh Labour Rules meet the ILO Conventions.
Business, Investments, Trade and Growth
In a workshop titled “Venture Financing in Bangladesh: An Exploration” organized by the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM), experts discussed policies for venture capital. Venture capital markets can support businesses and encourage new entrepreneurs.
According to data from Accord, out of the 1,600 member factories under Accord, 699 had executed 90 percent of remediation works by 1 January 2018. The progress rate of Accord factories in installing fire detection and prevention systems increased from 31 percent to 41 percent in the last three months in the preceding period.
You can read the full Quarterly Aggregate Report January 2018 here.
A session on “Reforms Needed to Facilitate Private Sector Engagement for SDG Achievement in Bangladesh” was organized at the 3rd South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) Annual Economists’ Conference 2018 at the BRAC Centre Inn in Dhaka. Experts cited the challenges faced by the private sector in contributing to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline. The Government and the entrepreneurs need to come together to tackle the issues properly.
Rising inequality was also discussed at the inaugural ceremony. One of the recommendations was to prioritize goals such as eradicating extreme poverty and ensuring decent jobs among the 17 SDGs.
Education and the Labour Market
The expert committee of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) identified several key areas in the labor law that needs reformation. The ILO has urged the Government of Bangladesh to ensure that the Bangladesh Labour Act and the Bangladesh Labour Rules meet ILO Conventions. Some concerns were covered in a recently published report while other matters were raised in a request addressed directly to the Government of Bangladesh.
Policies and incentives are needed to support small businesses to become formal enterprises explained experts at a recent event in Dhaka. Adam Smith International, The Asia Foundation and the UK government’s Department for International Development (DFID) organized the seminar. Speakers noted changes in the definition of informal work and that much of this informal employment is in the growing service sector.
And that’s the news for the week ending 22 February 2018.