Labor standards, labor policy, and compliance mechanism: a case study in Bangladesh

Abstract

The International Labor Organization (ILO) labor standard is crucial for ensuring labor rights, making it imperative for member states to adopt labor policies that align with and comply with the ILO. With this in mind, this manuscript addresses three key questions: First, what does the term ‘labor standard’ mean under the ILO? Second, does Bangladesh’s labor policy align with the ILO? Third, how can compliance with labor policy be improved to safeguard labor rights in Bangladesh? This qualitative study employs an interdisciplinary pure legal research methodology, as established by Arthurs in 1983, within the academic constituency. The findings reveal that labor legislation in Bangladesh often deviates from the ILO labor policy. In many cases, there is a lack of effective inspection mechanisms to enforce labor laws, and the penalties, incarceration, and other sanctions for labor law violations are inadequate. This leads to insufficient implementation of the law in Bangladesh, resulting in numerous violations of workers’ rights.