International Labour Organisation deputy director general Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo on Tuesday hoped that the garment sector of Bangladesh will go ahead taking lessons from the tragic Rana Plaza incident. In a day-long orientation programme on Freedom of Association for the officials of newly registered trade unions in the readymade garment sector held at a city hotel, he said the country made a good progress but a lot of things remain to be done to ensure workers’ rights.
The ILO deputy director general for field operations and partnerships, who arrived in Dhaka today, also attended the inaugural session of the orientation programme.
The programme was jointly organised by the National Coordination Committee for Workers’ Education, IndustriALL Bangladesh Council, Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, and the International Labour Organisation.
Leaders of 141 newly registered trade unions of the RMG sector along with leaders of over 80 trade union federations received orientation on issues like collective bargaining and freedom of association.
The programme was aimed at sensitising the trade union leaders on the issues of freedom of association, collective bargaining and related issues in the context of Bangladesh and the existing labour laws.
‘Registration of over 140 trade unions in the RMG sector in last 15 months is a good progress compared to registration figures for the previous years,’ Gilbert said.
The formation and registration of new trade unions is a sign of a new era of collective bargaining and freedom of association in Bangladesh which can act as a catalyst for change in other industries, he observed.
He urged the new labour leaders to provide their support for the well-being of workers as well as the national economy.
Md. Mujibul Haque, state minister for labour, said that there was a gap between the workers and factory owners which is a major challenge for sustainable development of the industry.
To remove the gap, the government eased the registration process so that more and more trade unions in the RMG factories would be formed as responsible collective bargaining agent is a pre-condition for industrial stability, he said.
The Government encourages the workers of the garment factories to come forward and take this opportunity for positive and sustainable change in the sector, Mujibul said.
Labour secretary Mikail Shipar said that it was very much important for the trade union leaders to know about the rights of the workers and also the procedure for collective bargaining.
He hoped that the programme on freedom of association for the new trade union leaders would be helpful to remove misunderstandings which are prevailing among the workers and factory owners in the RMG sector.
‘We welcome this initiative which will leave a long-term impact,’ Shipar said.
The ILO country director Srinivasa Reddy said that they were committed to supporting workers’ and employers’ organisations to build the capacity of factory-based unions and help ensure realisation of workers’ rights in the long run.
Secretary General of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council Roy Ramesh Chandra and chairperson of National Coordination Committee for Workers Education Md Zafrul Hasan, among others, attended the programme.
-With New Age input
