Experts and members of the Labour Reform Commission today suggested the introduction of a national minimum wage for workers and a uniform labour law applicable to employees both inside and outside the Export Processing Zones (EPZs).

They also recommended that the authorities ensure the rights of women workers more effectively in workplaces and take steps to bring workers from the informal sector into the formal sector.

The recommendations were made at a discussion on workers' livelihoods and working environments, organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) at its office in Dhaka in collaboration with Christian Aid.

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Decision on new wage for RMG workers by April

At present, 85 percent of Bangladesh's 8.5 crore workers are employed in the informal sector, depriving them of benefits enjoyed by formal sectors.

Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at the CPD, moderated the discussion, while Tamim Ahmed, a senior research associate at the CPD, presented the keynote paper.

Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, head of the Labour Reform Commission, also addressed the event.