Bangladesh’s caregiving sector has the potential to create approximately seven million new jobs by 2035; however, inadequate investment and an incomplete legislative framework have hindered the sector’s potential, according to a study by the International Labour Organisation.

It said that formally recognising care workers as legitimate workers through a systematic approach was crucial for empowering them to organise, engage in labour rights discussions, and advocate for improved working conditions.

The study identified that the caregiving sector was often characterised by gender disparities, with women disproportionately represented in low-paid and insecure roles.

Addressing these inequalities is essential for creating a more equitable workforce, as highlighted in the report presented on Tuesday during a discussion celebrating the International Day of Care and Support.

The ILO and the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies jointly organised the meeting on ‘Decent work for care workers: context, challenges and way forward’, at the Hotel Holiday Inn in the capital Dhaka.

Jagannath University associate professor Mustafiz Ahmed presented the findings of the study, which showed that temporary employment was the most common form in the country’s caregiving sector, constituting 48.6 per cent of positions, while permanent employment followed, making up 38.2 per cent.

The survey was conducted in Dhaka and Chattogram, covering a sample size of 212 participants across various occupations, including domestic work, nursing, healthcare, childcare and eldercare.

The survey revealed that 75 per cent of workers were required to work longer hours without proper overtime provisions.

Among those who do receive overtime pay, 63.6 per cent work more than two extra hours, while 36.4 per cent are not compensated at the required twice the normal rate for overtime, the study found.

According to the report, approximately 39.6 per cent of workers reported experiencing job expulsion without prior notice, with domestic workers (45 per cent) and healthcare workers (52 per cent) particularly vulnerable to this issue.

In instances of job expulsion, 36 per cent of workers never receive their entitled benefits, while 33.3 per cent receive them only sometimes, it found.

The report also identified that workers encountered significant risk in the workplace, including exposure to diseases and viruses (57.1 per cent), physical hazards (30.1 per cent) and potential injuries like burns (17.3 per cent).

Only 39.2 per cent of employers provided all workers with information about occupational risks, while 22 per cent did not, and 36.3 per cent of workers were uncertain.

Personal protective equipment was provided to all workers by 50.9 per cent of employers, whereas 27.4 per cent did not offer PPE, and 17 per cent of workers was unaware of its availability, the report said.

It said that the key policies, such as the National Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy, had not been fully enacted, leaving many workers, particularly domestic workers, without legal protections.

At the meeting, childcare worker Kohinur Akter stated that despite working for many years, her employers had not provided her with an appointment letter.

An elderly care worker Momin Uddin said that he was working over the years without any leave.

‘If I took leave for two or three days due to personal reasons or illness, my employer deducted my wages for those days,’ he said.

Sumaya Akter, a nurse, mentioned that she had been working for six years at a healthcare centre, where she worked from morning until night, but the authorities did not account for overtime for her extra hours.

Josna Akter, a home worker, said that they often faced harsh behaviour and even torture from their employers.

‘Despite its societal importance, care work remains undervalued, frequently lacking fair wages, protections, and recognition, particularly for women who predominantly occupy these roles under informal and challenging conditions,’ ILO country director Tuomo Poutiainen said.

He said that without adequate support from employers and the government — such as maternity leave, healthcare, and childcare — both worker productivity and household finances were adversely affected.

As care needs continue to expand and diversify, the care economy holds significant potential for generating employment in the coming years, Tuomo said.

According to the ILO findings, the share of women outside the labour force in Bangladesh due to care responsibilities decreased from 81 per cent in 2017 to 68 per cent in 2022.

Alongside increasing literacy rates, reducing maternal and child mortality, and improving gender parity in primary education, Bangladesh has prioritised achieving gender equality in labour force participation.

Women and children affairs ministry additional secretary Tania Khan acknowledged that care work should have a legal definition, along with legal provisions to protect care workers.

She said that care-related provisions should be integrated into the social protection framework for all workers, including care workers.

BILS executive director Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, SKOP leader Razekuzzaman Ratan, the National Coordination Committee for Workers’ Education chairman Badal Khan and BILS director Nazma Yesmin, among others, spoke at the event.