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To align Bangladesh's labour laws with international standards, enhance workers' rights, and strengthen workplace safety and protections, the interim government on Thursday approved the draft ordinance of the Labour Law. Among major changes, the draft law recognises domestic helps as worker, relaxes rules for forming trade unions and mandates the establishment of provident fund or pension schemes for all workers. It also prohibits the blacklisting of workers, a practice reportedly common in the garment sector, where dismissed workers are denied employment in other factories. In addition, the amendment introduces strict provisions to address sexual harassment and significantly increases maternity welfare benefits. It also bans gender-based wage discrimination.
The proposed amendments have been hailed by rights activists as a major step towards improving labour rights and ensuring safer workplaces. Industrialists, however, have voiced concern over the significant reduction in the number of workers required to form a trade union.
At present, forming a trade union requires the support of at least 20 per cent of the workforce. Under the new provision, however, the requirement will vary depending on the size of the enterprise. In companies employing up to 300 workers, a union must have at least 20 members. The threshold will increase to 40 members for factories with 301 to 500 workers, gradually increasing with the size of the enterprise, and in companies with more than 3,000 employees, at least 400 members will be required to form a union.
Industrialists have opposed the lowering of these thresholds, arguing that it could disrupt operations in large factories and lead to increased labour unrest.
The amendment to the Labour Law follows the interim government's ratification of three ILO conventions concerning occupational safety and health, the promotional framework for workplace safety, and the prevention of violence and harassment. Implementing these reforms is also crucial as Bangladesh seeks to secure the extension of Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facilities in the European Union after its graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) status.
Formation of trade unions is not only a fundamental right of workers but also a stabilising factor in industrial relations when unions genuinely advocate for workers' rights. A note of caution, however, is that the relaxation of rules for forming unions could lead to formation of multiple trade unions within a single factory. If these unions are backed by rival political parties or guided by ulterior motives, there is a real risk of conflict erupting at the workplace, undermining the stability and industrial growth.
Therefore, the trade union registration process must be transparent. It should be ensured that only genuine workers participate in the CBA elections and that real workers have the opportunity to form unions, and they are advocating for the rights and wellbeing of the workers, not by vested interests or quarters driven by political motives.
The labour law should therefore be implemented in a well-coordinated manner to guarantee three fundamental issues-workers' right to organise, the right to collective bargaining, and the promotion of sound industrial relations.
Besides, the proposed labour law ordinance provides for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods like negotiation, mediation and arbitration as a mandatory first step to resolve labour disputes. Crimes like murder, rape and suchlike are dealt with in accordance with the law of the land and the established norms and practices. But labour issues such as maternity leave, overtime, payment of wages, minimum wages etcetera fall into a different category, many of which are simply misunderstandings, are possible to resolve out of court to the mutual satisfaction of all the disputants.
A Conciliation-cum-Arbitration Committee (CAC) already exists under the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). Dispute resolution centres should be established and allowed to run independently in major industrial belts so that it can rapidly resolve the grievances of the owners and the workers, allowing no time for ill-feelings to develop and fester. Only then it will keep production uninterrupted and promote harmonious industrial relations.