The Labour Law and Regulatory Affairs Cell of the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF), with technical assistance from the Labour Administration and Working Conditions (LAWC) Cluster of the ILO Country Office for Bangladesh, organized a webinar with the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) on 23 January 2026. The webinar was held under the Team Europe Initiative (TEI) on Decent Work in Bangladesh, jointly supported by the European Union, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
The objective of the webinar was to strengthen institutional collaboration between BEF and EFC, exchange updates on BEF’s ongoing legal services, and explore practical strategies for further expanding and enhancing BEF legal support services for its member firms, drawing on the experience and best practices of EFC.
The webinar commenced with welcome remarks from Mr. Md. Saidul Islam, Additional Secretary-General, BEF, who expressed sincere appreciation to EFC for joining the discussion. On behalf of BEF, he highlighted the initiatives undertaken by BEF Legal Unit to extend legal services to member firms and emphasized the importance of regional collaboration in strengthening employers’ organizations.
A four-member delegation from EFC, led by Mr. Vajira Ellepola, Director General/Chief Executive Officer, EFC, participated in the discussion. Mr. Ellepola appreciated BEF’s efforts in providing legal services to its members and shared insights on several successful legal service models and initiatives of EFC that BEF may consider adopting in the future. He also informed participants about EFC’s initiative to introduce an annual Best Employers Award.
The webinar was also attended by officials from the ILO Country Office for Bangladesh, including Ms. Chayanich Thamparipattra, Project Technical Officer, who welcomed the BEF–EFC collaboration and underscored the importance of such knowledge-sharing initiatives in strengthening institutional capacity and service delivery.
A total of 10 participants attended the webinar, comprising 4 representatives from EFC, 4 from BEF, and 2 from the ILO Country Office for Bangladesh, with equal participation of male and female participants.
The webinar marked an important step toward enhanced cooperation between BEF and EFC, particularly in the area of legal services and employer support, and reaffirmed BEF’s commitment to continuously improving services for its member firms.
