Fisheries and Livestock adviser Farida Akhter has said that nearly 85 percent of Bangladesh’s workforce is employed in the informal sector, with most workers unrecognized and outside social protection coverage.

“Without the contributions of tea workers, fishers, or domestic workers, today’s economy would not function. Yet economists often focus only on the formal sector and overlook the role of informal workers,” she said at an event organized by Oxfam in Bangladesh on Tuesday at a convention center in Dhaka's Tejgaon.

She noted that due to economic oversight, the contributions of informal workers remain largely unacknowledged, which in turn denies them proper recognition.

The adviser also highlighted that female workers have long faced exploitation both socially and economically.

“Ensuring the rights of women workers is crucial not only for their welfare but also for national development,” she added.

“When we talk about workers, the issue of deprivation comes to the forefront. In reality, they lack recognition and rights, and despite their hard work and the exploitation they endure, they do not receive what they rightfully deserve,” Farida said.

At the event, women workers from tea gardens, fisheries, domestic work, and garment production sectors gathered for the Informal & Marginalised Formal Women Workers Convention 2025, announcing the formation of the "National Non-unionised Women Workers Forum".