Can automation and AI bring work-life balance in Bangladesh?
Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are undergoing swift progressions and have the potential to revolutionise labour markets on a global scale. Bangladesh, characterised by its robust labour force and expanding economy, encounters distinctive conditions that demand a detailed re-evaluation of its labour legislation and policies. This re-evaluation should achieve a balanced equilibrium between shipping technological advancements and safeguarding its workforce—creating a work-life balance, so to speak.
Automation is progressively emerging as a critical factor in the global readjustment of employment environments. In 2020, the World Economic Forum anticipated that automation would displace roughly 85 million jobs by 2025. Concurrently, 97 million new employees who are better suited to developing work paradigms that combine algorithms, machines, and people are expected to emerge. Given that the workforce can successfully transition, this duality creates a scenario in which the displacement of conventional jobs results in new opportunities.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. 
To maintain industrial competitiveness in the face of substantial demographic challenges and labour shortages, nations such as Japan and Germany have implemented automation systems in the automotive industry. On the contrary, in countries characterised by youthful populations and elevated levels of unemployment such as Bangladesh, the difficulty of securing employment may intensify without proactive strategies.
The textile and garment industry, a sector that supports more than four million individuals and is fundamental to the economy of Bangladesh, has initiated a phased implementation of automation technologies. According to a 2018 research by the International Labour Organization (ILO), this transition threatens employment, particularly given most of the unskilled labour in this sector. However, automation also offers the potential to mitigate specific persistent challenges within the industry, such as hazardous working conditions and excessive work hours, by enhancing production process efficiency and achieving a work-life balance easier for the workers.
Various nations have adopted distinct strategies to confront the obstacles presented by automation. An instance of active involvement in developing regulations about AI and labour is the European Union, which has placed significant emphasis on ethical principles and safeguarding workers' rights. France has prioritised policies that incentivise businesses to invest in the development and training of their employees to equip them for a better-automated future.
Bangladesh can draw upon Singapore's solid strategic framework. The city-state has enacted initiatives to encourage the adoption of automation technologies and enhance workforce skills across all sectors. These protocols guarantee easier assimilation of personnel into their newly created positions due to technological progress.
Labour regulations in Bangladesh, specifically the Labour Act, 2006, predates the emergence of contemporary technological advancements. The existing legislation must confront the intricacies of automation and AI more effectively as it fails to incorporate provisions for safeguarding workers in vulnerable sectors, retraining, and upskilling. Legislation about the ethical ramifications of AI needs to be revised despite its importance in guaranteeing that such technologies' implementation upholds workers' rights and fosters fair labour practices.
To capitalise on and accommodate the influx of automation, Bangladesh may contemplate several strategic measures, such as consolidating current labour legislation with provisions that specifically address automation and AI, emphasising promoting skill development, retraining, and job transitions. It is important to: i) foster public-private alliances that bring together academic institutions, industry leaders, and government agencies to cooperatively design specialised training programmes that meet the needs of an automated economy; ii) strengthen social safety nets to help people going through work changes or are unemployed due to technological breakthroughs; iii) create a set of moral guidelines to direct the use of AI systems so that its application respects the ideas of fair work practices and avoids discrimination; and iv) join forces and share expertise internationally with nations that have tackled the challenges of automation by enacting progressive laws and regulations.
The progression towards an automated economy is an unavoidable development that will profoundly transform the character of labour. Bangladesh faces the dual challenge of harnessing technological advancements to stimulate economic expansion while safeguarding its workforce's welfare. By applying insights from global case studies and taking proactive measures to revise labour legislation, the country has the potential to strike a precarious equilibrium between promoting its economic goals and protecting its most invaluable resource—its human workforce. In addition to fostering economic resilience, this strategic approach will safeguard the integrity and rights of labourers in a world that is becoming more mechanised.
Md Fahmedul Islam Dewan is lecturer at the Department of Law, World University of Bangladesh, and an alumni of the DLA Piper Global Scholarship Programme.
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
Follow The Daily Star Opinion on Facebook for the latest opinions, commentaries and analyses by experts and professionals. To contribute your article or letter to The Daily Star Opinion, see our guidelines for submission.
Comments