Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan stressed that Bangladesh’s just transition must prioritize workers’ dignity, fair wages, and safety. At the Just Transition Convention 2025, she urged state action, tripartite dialogue, and worker-centered policies to protect vulnerable communities and industries.
A just transition towards a greener, more sustainable economy cannot be achieved without placing workers’ dignity at the center of national policies said Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Ministry of Water Resources.
Speaking as the Chief Guest at the closing ceremony of the Just Transition Convention Bangladesh 2025, held at Hotel Westin, Dhaka, Rizwana Hasan emphasized that current economic models are deeply flawed in ensuring fairness for workers, said a press release.
“A just transition is not possible without ensuring workers’ dignity and adopting worker-centered policies,” she said. “Current economic models create barriers to achieving workers’ dignity. Immediate implementation of worker-centered policies and safeguards is indispensable.”
She stressed the urgency of fair and timely payment of wages, respectful treatment of workers, and the creation of safe working environments across industries.
Confronting harsh realities
The Adviser drew attention to the dire conditions in several sectors, including the shipbreaking industry, where occupational hazards remain severe; the stone-crushing industry and outsourcing sectors, where workers face chronic health and safety risks; and among farmers and fishing communities, where debt-related distress and even suicides highlight the crushing pressures of climate and economic vulnerability.
“Unless these realities are addressed through robust policies and effective state interventions, the rhetoric of just transition will remain hollow,” she warned, calling for the strengthening of tripartite dialogues between workers, businesses, and government institutions.
Shared responsibility and global solidarity
The event, titled “From Dialogue to Action: Towards a National Alliance for Just Transition (NAJT)”, brought together national and international voices to shape a collective vision for worker-centered climate action.
Distinguished speakers included AHM Shafiquzzaman, Former Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment; Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS); Anwar Hossain, Adviser, BILS; AKM Ashraf Uddin, Executive Director of Bangladesh Labour Foundation (BLF); Baiba Zarina, Deputy Head of Delegation, Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh; Ruben Korevaar, Policy Advisor, Mondiaal FNV; and Abdul Kader Howlader, Joint Convener, Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP).
Speakers highlighted the need for balanced and coordinated roles between businesses, workers, and the state, stressing that trade unions while remaining non-partisan can play a vital role in defending and strengthening workers’ rights in the era of transition.
Towards a national roadmap
The convention concluded with a consensus to establish a roadmap and a national platform for just transition, aimed at bridging the gap between dialogue and concrete action. This platform will integrate policy recommendations, institutional safeguards, and practical roll-out plans, providing a foundation for long-term structural change in Bangladesh’s labor and environmental policies.
For many, the message of the convention was clear: without ensuring workers’ dignity, fair treatment, and safety, the promise of a just transition risks being no more than a slogan. By centering workers from shipyards and stone quarries to fishing boats and farms Bangladesh can chart a truly inclusive path towards an environmentally sustainable and socially just future.
