The Cabinet on Monday approved the Bangladesh Labour Law (Amendment), which enables the government to declare minimum wages for workers of any industrial sector after taking special circumstances into consideration. The approval was given at a Cabinet meeting held at the
Cabinet Division. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was in the chair.Under the new amendment to the law, group insurance must be extended to cover a minimum of 100 workers instead of the earlier 200 workers, cabinet secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the reporters after the meeting.
“If necessary, the government can declare a minimum wage structure for workers of the industrial sector by issuing a gazette notification after bringing changes to the current wages,” stated the proposed amendment to the law.
“The wages of the workers can be paid through the banks accounts of the workers by electronic transfer,” the proposed law stated.
Four new categories of workers — ship-breaking, construction firms, agro firms and rice-husking mills — have been brought under the coverage of the amendment to the Bangladesh Labour Law.
“The owners and workers can take the help of trade union experts well-versed in labour laws during bargaining,” stated a new clause that has been included under the proposed amendment to the Bangladesh Labour Law.
Explaining the background behind the proposed amendment of the Bangladesh Labour Law, labour secretary Mikail Shipar told The Independent that the changes are being implemented ahead of the post-hearing briefing on the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) talks at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in Washington, which have to be sent by April 24.
“It will help in the implementation of better work programmes in the country, initiated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for facilitating better market access for Bangladeshi products and improvement of labour standards,” he said. “We have to ensure internationally accredited workers’ rights, especially rights of trade unions and rights of collective bargaining agents (CBAs) to get the benefits.”
The Cabinet also approved the draft of the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) Bill, 2013, to maintain the continuity of the previous ordinance for running the activities of the BCSIR.
-With The Independent input
