Our proposed vision
A Bangladesh where every worker earns enough during normal working hours to support a decent life for themselves and their family, with dignity, security and a voice at work.
Our proposed mission
Equip workers and their organisations with accessible knowledge, evidence and practical skills, and bring relevant stakeholders together to advance living wages through collective bargaining, social dialogue, responsible business practices and informed public policy.
How the Academy is intended to work
Practical Bangla-first materials, payslip and household-cost exercises, bargaining preparation and accessible in-person options.
Methods, assumptions, limitations, funding and disagreements made visible. Workers’ experience sits alongside price and wage data.
Worker consultations and joint discussions that record actions, responsible parties and review dates.
When approved and resourced, practical tests with baselines, worker consultation and monitoring of pay, hours and wellbeing.
Who can take part?
Workers and independent unions are primary rights holders. Employers, buyers, researchers, civil society, public institutions and development partners may participate according to agreed roles. No named organisation is presented as a confirmed partner without its agreement.
Access should account for language, literacy, disability, travel, childcare, time and digital barriers. Worker-only preparation and safe feedback routes matter when people meet across unequal positions.
Accountability and limits
BLF will hold legal and administrative responsibility if the initiative is adopted. Proposed advisory and technical arrangements are described in the consultation draft ToR. The Academy will support existing wage institutions and worker representation. It will not set wage rates, certify employers, replace trade unions or promise an individual pay rise.
Content and calculator policy
Guides link to original publishers and distinguish a legal rule, a research estimate and a voluntary commitment. Calculator inputs remain in the visitor’s browser. Its simplified examples are for learning; a published local benchmark must be checked at source before use. The site will state corrections and source dates when original Academy research is added.