Speakers urge action to protect domestic workers’ rights

Speakers at a discussion in Dhaka on Tuesday called for effective measures to ensure the dignity, safety and rights of domestic workers, including stronger safeguards for their welfare.

The call came at the “Policy Dialogue and Consultation Meeting 2026 on the Dignity, Safety and Rights of Domestic Workers”, held at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh in Khamarbari, Farmgate.

The event was organised by Nari Maitree, with support from Christian Aid and Amrai Pari, and funded by the European Union.

Participants said climate-related impacts and limited employment opportunities are pushing many rural poor to migrate to cities in search of work.

Many, particularly women, are taking up domestic work or other home-based jobs as a means of livelihood, they said.

Speakers noted that although domestic work is one of the world’s oldest occupations, it remains largely part of Bangladesh’s informal sector.

As a result, they added, reliable and updated information on the number of domestic workers, their working conditions and the extent of rights protection remains limited.

Citing the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Labour Force Survey 2017, they said the country has about 2.5 million domestic workers, most of them women.

Speakers also recalled that Bangladesh adopted the “Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy 2015”, the first country in South Asia to do so.

However, they said key provisions assigned to the government have not been visibly implemented, including institutional mechanisms such as a helpline and a monitoring cell.

They further said domestic workers were included as labourers through an amendment to the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 on Nov 17, 2025, under Ordinance No. 65 of 2025.

However, they said, there remains no clear guidance or specific framework on protections and benefits such as workplace safety, working hours, wages, leave and compensation.

Speakers called for urgent steps to ensure protections in practice, including a government-led database of domestic workers to enhance safety for both workers and employers.

They also urged easier access to digital banking to strengthen workers’ financial security.

Domestic worker Urmy Akter presented a demand note at the meeting.

Abul Hossain, acting coordinator of the Domestic Workers Rights Network; Nazma Yasmin, director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS); Murshida Akter of the National Domestic Women Workers Union; Shahida Parveen Sikha of Jatiya Nari Sramik Trade Union Centre; Naima Rahman, deputy director at BBS; and Advocate Amanullah of BLAST spoke as discussants.

Jakia Sultana of the Domestic Workers National Forum, Mushfiqur Rahman of Christian Aid, Mashiur Rahman of UNDP Bangladesh, Advocate Shahin Momtaz of BNWLA, and Farhan Mahmud of Amrai Pari, among others, attended as guest speakers.

Masuma Alam, president of Nari Maitree, chaired the programme, which was moderated by Md Khalid Bin Yusuf, programme director of Nari Maitree.

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