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Apparel-sector rights groups have informed the visiting European Union delegation of the development in the implementation of labour-sector reforms in Bangladesh in line with the National Action Plan.
On Tuesday, they told the delegates that the government had amended the labour law without any prior consent of the tripartite consultative council, sources said.
Besides, standard operating procedure (SoP) has not been followed with regard to the registration of trade unions while the minimum membership threshold was one of the major obstacles to getting registration.
The EU delegation led by Paola Pampaloni, deputy managing director of the Asia-Pacific Department at the European External Action Service, held a meeting with the labour leaders on Tuesday to review progress in the implementation of labour-sector reforms.
The EU delegation discussed with union leaders about the amended labour act, progress in trade union registration, unfair labour practices and the Essential Services Bill 2023, meeting sources said.
The ongoing movement of garment workers demanding a pay hike, deaths of four workers during demonstrations and the filing of cases against several hundred workers for joining the protest were also discussed.
Regarding amendment, Touhidur Rahman, member of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council executive committee, said the government passed the latest amendment bypassing the tripartite committee and many of the recommendations from trade unions were not accommodated in the amendment.
The threshold for membership requirement for trade union registration has been reduced to 15 per cent from existing 20 per cent for factories having more than 3000 workers.
But it remained the same 20 per cent for units having workers below 3000, added Mr Rahman.
"We inform the delegation that we want no threshold rather number of workers in this regard," he told the FE after the meeting.
Bangladesh Trade Union Sangha secretary Chowdhury Ashikul Alam, IndustriALL Bangladesh Council president Amirul Haque Amin and Sammilita Garment Sramik Federation president Nazma Akhter, among others, attended the meeting.
The EU delegation has been in Dhaka on a five-day visit since Sunday visit to assess the implementation of the action plan on the labour sector.