Health, safety, and environment issues are concerned with the evaluation of the human workforce, and the design of the working environment to obtain maximum satisfaction in productivity, and workers' health, safety and well-being. Occupational health and safety (OHS) primarily seeks to maintain the working ability of the labour force as well as to identify, assess and prevent hazards within the working environment. All of these issues to improve workers’ efficiency and well being and maintain industrial production through the design of an improved workplace. OHS satisfy the needs of changing local people’s attitudes, local work methods, and/or traditional ways of doing things. These issues are important for Bangladesh; because the effects of poor health and lack of safety facilities, and non-ergonomics conditions exist in various workplaces are a hindrance to the national economy and social progress. Since implementing the full concept of OHS application is a priority, understanding the meaning of the terms related to OHS applications is a major source of workplace improvement. It is therefore important for both foreign and local investors to investigate workplaces, to know how a tool, machinery, and production process would match the local workers’ physical and mental capabilities of the local population.

To ensure workers health and safety, ergonomics and friendly environment at the workplaces is the human right as well workers right and save live. Usually workers are often getting sick, become unhealthy, suffers various diseases and unwanted accident resulted works disability even death. On the other hand economy since the provision of health, hygiene, and safety in the workplace contributes to economic growth processes in a number of ways. OHS issues are also related with the production economy and social progress, and thus, important components of gross domestic product (GDP), which are considered as inputs into the national economy through industrial development. It is also observed that the relative share of GDP spent on health and safety does not conform to a consistent pattern in developing countries (Takala 2000). This is because the GDP lost in work-related injuries and occupational diseases stemming from a poor work environment are not counted in developing countries.

There are long-term trends in occupational exposure—that are a real problem in Bangladesh not only for workers’ health and safety risks but also for the society as well. According to BILS survey in 2006 at least 480 working people killed, 950 injured and 35 sexually violated at work in violence and accidents. It is also well known that the present status of OHS is still at the rudimentary level in Bangladesh because the factory owners and employers association usually considers these elements as a costly luxury. It is also true that they usually lack money, resources, and other elements for providing improved health and safety facilities to all the workers.

BILS Believes that a just and democratic society is must to ensure the right of working people. And as the vanguard of protection of workers' rights Trade Union can play a vital role in establishing such a society. Keeping this in view, since inception, the BILS has been working for capacity building for Trade Unions. BILS regularly contributes to and intervenes in developing policies and laws for working people. The priorities of intervention are decided to social dialogues and action researches and studies.

The BILS mission is to co-operate the trade union movement in Bangladesh to grow like a special partner and as vanguard for democratic development and common prosperity. Forthcoming days are challenging and yet prosperous. The TU movement has always and shall, in future too, have to overcome the challenges and embrace the prosperity. It is only a united, strong, capable, effective, and responsible TU movement which can accomplish the task. The BILS mission is to corporate the TU movement in Bangladesh to grow like that. And that is the only way to improve the capacity of the national trade union movement to put into effects in an organized and effective way, the real desire of the workers, at large, who have learnt from their experience the necessity of unity, knowledge, and skill. This is what the BILS wants to do as an institute of the working people.

IN connection with BILS mission OHSEI carried out an assessment in Bangladesh from June 7-8, 2005, with main purpose being:

- Meeting with the Leadership in BILS to assess with the leadership of BILS on the OSH situation in Bangladesh, including the legal OSH framework, BILS organizational framework on OSH and to assess BILS and its affiliates structures and capacity to deal with occupational health and safety issues.

- Further, to present to the BILS leadership the on-going FNV/LO-FTF/OHSEI Project, and discuss with them on how the project objectives and activities can be implemented in Bangladesh, including the project’s institutional framework under the proposed cooperation and overall coordinating role of the BILS.

Conducted the FNV/LO-FTF/OHSEI/BILS need assessment workshop focused on utilizing a combination of future workshop and the Logical Framework Analysis (LFA) approach to project planning, to identify major organizational and institutional development needs on the issue of OSH that can be included in the Bangladeshi components of the FNV/LO-FTF/OHSEI Project, including resources needed and institutional frame work.

On the basis of the workshop BILS has initiated the program to discuss the issue with concerned development partners and persons and to find out a way to combat the very poor OSH situation. This is a one year project namely “BILS-OSHE project’ with the financial support by FNV/LO-FTF through Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Institute (OSHEI), Bangkok.