Bangladesh will continue to receive support from PUM

The DECP Country Manager for Bangladesh Andrew Moore undertook a mission to Dhaka from 19 – 21 September 2022. This was the first visit to take place for some considerable time due to the pandemic and provided the opportunity to meet with the Bangladesh Employers Federation (BEF) and to discuss in some detail the work undertaken over the last few years and the plans for the remaining months of 2022 until the amalgamation of the DECP with PUM. It should be noted that Bangladesh is one of the few countries in South Asia that will continue to receive support from PUM in 2023 and beyond.

The mission started with a meeting with the Secretary General Farooq Ahmed and a number of his senior staff. The meeting started with an overview of the work undertaken over the last few years by the BEF with support from the DECP.

It was noted that the BEF had increased its membership by some 22% and that its relationships with the trade unions had grown stronger due to projects supported by the DECP.

Events had taken place in 2022 both on Membership recruitment with particular emphasis on SME’s and also events on Social Dialogue which had used the development of a bipartite Safety Council as a basis. This was important and needed in Bangladesh as it had experienced some horrific fires in factories over the last few years.

It was agreed that meetings would take place between PUM and the BEF over the coming months.

The mission concluded with the Secretary General thanking the DECP for all its support and guidance.