The Workers Resource Centre (WRC) –a joint platform of the National Coordination Committee for Workers Education (NCCWE) and the IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC), established in 2017 and launched in 2018.
It serves as a one-stop-shop for workers needing information, education, and assistance on labour-related grievance, while supporting and promoting social dialogue and non-litigious dispute prevention and resolution.
It also aims to build the capacity of trade unions to operate more efficiently and to provide better services to members and to workers alike. Currently, it benefits from the support of the ILO SDIR Project, with development assistance from the Governments of Denmark and Sweden.
A Board of Trustees (BoT), consisting of IBC and NCCWE representatives governs the WRC. The BoT members have a term of two years, while the chairperson and vice chairperson posts are rotated on a bi-annual basis. An office manager, specialists, and administrative staff manage the daily operations of the center.
In the last few decades, the Bangladesh RMG sector has grown rapidly and currently employs an estimated 4 million workers. However, this growth has not been accompanied by similar developments in working conditions and labour rights.
Strong, Independent, democratic, effective and professional trade unions can help to address these challenges. They give workers the capacity to better organize ,bargain collectively and resolve labour disputes. This will eventually contribute to improving working conditions and workplace safety as well as productivity and stability at the enterprise and sectoral level.