The Bangladesh government ordered criminal cases be dropped against top union leaders on Wednesday, a ministry official said, a move hailed by labour activists who say they are routinely harassed and threatened. A home ministry official told AFP that the cases of inciting violence during wage-hike protests in 2010 against Kalpona Akter and Babul Akter, the leaders of BangladeshCenter for Worker Solidarity (BCWS), will be withdrawn.
“The home minister has already directed police and the district administration to withdraw the cases,” said Kamaluddin Ahmed, a senior home ministry official, explaining that “the government took generous views of the cases”.
Kalpona was facing five cases and Babul six.
The official did not cite any reason, but leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo quoted home minister Muhiuddin Khan as saying the aim was to “win back” duty-free access the US had accorded some of Bangladesh’s products.
The US suspended the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in late June over Bangladesh’s failure to protect the fundamental rights of workers, a decision hastened by the death of 1,129 people in the collapse of a garment factory complex in April.
The disaster outside Dhaka highlighted appalling working conditions in Bangladesh’s 4,500 garment factories where more than three million workers make clothing for top retailers such as Wal-Mart, H&M for a basic monthly wages of $40.
Although the GSP programme does not cover the garment industry, the move was an embarrassment for the Bangladeshi government which is desperate to convince foreign firms that it is serious about improving safety.
Bangladesh initially reacted with fury to the announcement by President Barack Obama but later announced a series of moves to amend labour laws in an effort to ensure trade union rights and workplace safety.
-With The Independent input
