Labour and Employment Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju on Monday placed a much-talked ‘Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Bill, 2013’aiming to protect the interest and rights of the workers and ensuring their safety, which was passed in Parliament through voice votes in absence of the opposition lawmakers. According to the amendments, employees would no longer need approval from factory owners to form trade unions. Workers would just need toapply to the labour directorate for authorization.
The amendments also sought in the bill are designed to protect the interest of the workers.
The amended bill will also help increase productivity as it has arelation with the welfare of the workers.
The bill defined the expert as who has 10 years experience of trade union did not punish for any criminal court.
The amendment also allows trade unions to be formed in the different administrative wings of a factory, which was not permitted under the present law.
The amended bill includes rice mill, saw mill, fishing trawler, fish processing industry and ocean going ship in the industry sector.
It said that to identify any misconduct of a labour there will be a committee to find out that will be comprised of same number of representatives from the owner and labour sides.
It said that the owner of an industry will provide office and its furniture for the collective bargaining agent (CBA) of the industry. The proposed law has brought outsourcing under registration to improve management of companies and prevent exploitation of the workers.
In the proposed law, the group insurance of the workers has been made mandatory for companies with minimum 100 workers. The proposed amendment bill provides that in case of the death of a worker the employer will realize the insurance claim from the insurance company and handover the money to the dependent of that worker directly.
In case of voluntary retirement or termination with minimum 10 years of service, a worker will be entitled to get one month’s basic salary for each year of service. But she or he would get one and half month’s basic salary for each year in case of more than 12 years of service.
The amended law said that 5 percent of annual profit would be deposited in provident and welfare funds. It also has the provision of paying compensation for the workers in case of their death, termination from services and accidental deaths during duty hours.
There is a provision in the bill to keep consistency between the structural design and outlay of a factory while Welfare Fund will have to be constituted for the workers of the export-oriented companies.
Worker’s Party chief Rashed Khan Menon, treasury bench member Junaid Ahmed Palak, and Jatiya Party member Mujibul Haque Chunnu brought some amendment proposals on the bill along with eliciting public opinions.
Among those, a number of amendment proposals brought by Palak and Chunnu were accepted by the House and the rest were rejected through voice votes.
Opposition lawmakers were absent during the passage of the Bill.
-With The Independent input
