Trade union leaders and civil society representatives called for an end to violence against domestic workers, exemplary punishment for torturers, including legal protection, proper treatment of victims and appropriate compensation. The demand was made at a human chain and protest meeting held in front of the National Press Club on June 5, 2021. In collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies-BILS and Domestic Workers Rights Network-DWRN jointly organised the human chain.

Speakers at the human chain said that in the last few days, two domestic workers named Amena Khatun (11) and Nilufar Begum (15) have been tortured in Dhaka’s Mohakhali and Hamzarbagh areas of Chittagong city. One after another deaths and tortures of domestic workers are taking place in the country due to the non-implementation of ‘Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy 2015’ framed for the protection of domestic workers across the country. They said the torturers repeatedly dared to torture domestic workers because of the lack of justice. If the perpetrators of these incidents are given exemplary punishment, then no one will dare to torture the domestic workers for fear of that.

At the same time, the speakers urged ratified the ILO Convention-189 and implemented the ‘Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy-2015’ to protect the safety of domestic workers across the country, to include domestic workers in the labour law, fair compensation to the injured workers, medical expenses of the injured workers to be borne by the employers, permanent rehabilitation of the families of the killed workers and injured workers.

DWRN Acting Coordinator Abul Hossain presided over the human chain while Bangladesh Mukta Sramik Federation Acting General Secretary Shahidullah Badal, Jatiya Sramik League Trade Union Affairs Secretary Firoz Hossain, DWRN Member Secretary and BILS Director Nazma Yesmin, National  Domestic Women Workers Union General Secretary Murshida Akhter Nahar, Bangladesh Trade Union Kendra Office Secretary Shahida Parvin Shikha, Jatiya Sramik League Women’s Affairs Secretary Promila Podder, Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal Representative Lutfunnahar Lata, Jatiya Sramik Jote representative Hena Chowdhury, Jatiya Sramik Federation representative Arifa Akhter and BILS and DWRN affiliated Human Rights organisation and national trade union federation leaders were presents at the human chain.