Promises broken, forgotten

May Day
Promises broken, forgotten
Elaborate arrangements by successive governments for religious ‘celebrations’ of May Day turn out to be a farce as they have deliberately violated the spirit of the day by refusing to implement major features of agreements they have signed with labour organisations.
The religious observance of the day also means nothing for the workers, whose rights are trampled as opportunism, corruption, undue political interference, lack of unity among the workers and ideological divide between the leaders have stalled the trade union movement in Bangladesh for decades.
Apart from getting less than bare minimum wages, the workers need to work in places where even the basic safety measures are not in place and where they may be fired without being given any reasons or without being paid any recompense.
Every year the day returns elsewhere and to Bangladesh, where more than 85 per cent of the workers do not have even the minimum right to trade unionism to protest themselves against injustice committed against them.
Successive governments have signed at least seven agreements with Sramik-Karmachari Oikya Parishad, a coalition of major labour organisations, since 1984 the major features of which only to be set aside later.
The BNP-led alliance government, however, enacted the Bangladesh Labour Act on October 11, 2006, unifying the provisions of 25 laws on labour, with some amendments.
The act, made 22 years after the signing the first agreement on May 21, 1984 to do so, lacks any provision for its implementation, which has rendered it useless. It also contains a number of provisions, some of which are against the workers and some others are ambiguous.
Chapter XI of the act stipulates that a wage board needs to set the minimum wage for industrial workers every five years. The government accordingly on October 11 announced Tk 1,662 as the minimum wage for an industrial worker.
Although the act makes implementation of the minimum wage mandatory for industry owners, there is no clear provision which could ensure the implementation.
The act defines ‘work time’ as the period during which a labourer remains under the jurisdiction of the employer. But it does not clearly say whether the lunch and rest time of workers will be excluded in counting the maximum 60-hour weekly work time. It has also created confusion about the responsibility of the employers for providing their workers with places for lunch and rest.
The law strips the tea garden workers of the right to enjoy casual leave while workers in other sectors can enjoy the leave for 15 days a year.
Section 187 of the act stipulates that the president, secretary and treasurer of any trade union cannot be transferred from one district to another without their consent. But their work stations were not changeable at all in the previous laws. Trade unionists and labour law experts term the provision harmful for trade unionism.
Although the act specified 37 matters to be detailed later in rules, the government is yet to frame them. It also mentions a number of matters to be dealt with in accordance with the yet-to-be made rules.
The military-controlled interim regime on October 22, 2008 framed the Bangladesh Apprentice Training Rules 2008. No other rules have so far been framed.
In order to ensure productivity, the labour act should be amended and the rules should be framed immediately, correcting, detailing, and explaining specifically the ambiguous and anti-worker provisions and stipulating specific provisions to ensure implementation of the new law, said trade unionists and labour law experts.
Although the incumbent government on November 12, 2009 amended the act, no harmful provision was changed; rather the amendment allowed the workers at the ports to form only one trade union for a port and abolished the Dock Workers’ Management Board.
More than 85 per cent of the country’s workers, in informal sectors, are still deprived of their rights as they do not have any right to trade unionism.
The government, factory owners and workers at a meeting on November 2, 2009 decided to introduce trade unionism in the garment sector to avert rerun of labour unrest.
The labour and employment ministry brokered the meeting a day after the police fired into workers demonstrating against an abrupt closure of the Nippon Garment at Tongi without paying their dues. At least three people were killed and score others injured in the incident.
No further development in this regard has so far been made, garment worker leaders said.
The continuous denial of the workers’ rights in both the formal and informal sectors continues apace as no effective trade union movement has been observed for decades.
The workers of ship-breaking industries have, rather, been seen to be used by the owners to take to the streets recently to continue with the running of the industry defying the High Court orders that had ordered implementation of the laws, including the labour act, to protect the workers’ rights and ensure their safety.
Political leaders do not seem to realise that an active and constructive role played by trade unions is good for industrial growth, trade union leaders and an economist observed.
‘Industrial unrest would have lessened if there had been constructive bargaining agents free of political influence,’ said economist Zaid Bakht.
In other countries, trade unions promote better management of industries, and such sound trade union activism would also help Bangladesh to grow, he said.
Mojibur Rahman, general secretary of the Bangladesh Mukta Sramik Federation, blamed political division among the trade unionists and union leaders’ opportunism for the state of inertia in trade union movement.
Trade union leaders observed the Awami League-led government had so far taken no major step for the improvement of the fate of the workers.
‘Wholesale privatisation of state-owned industries in line with international lender’s prescriptions has increased disunity among the labours,’ the Sramik-Karmachari Oikya Parishad coordinator, Wajedul Islam Khan, said.
Nazrul Islam Khan, president of Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, blamed the two-year military-controlled regime for lack of trade union movement as trade unionism remained suspended for two years.
The government should immediately implement its election pledges for a progressive review of the labour act, announcement of national minimum wage and introduction of trade unionism in non-formal sectors, including garment industries.
He also said no workers’ movement had so far been organised as the workers wanted to give the government time to implement their demands. ‘If the government fails to go by the election pledges, the workers must take to the streets to push for the demands.’
Wajedul Islam Khan, the Trade Union Centre’s general secretary, made similar observation saying the government should implement the election pledges and form wage board for the workers to ensure congenial work atmosphere and productivity in industrial sectors.
Roy Ramesh Chandra, general secretary of the Jatiya Sramik League, said the workers were still deprived of their basic rights.
A huge number of workers, in agriculture, garment and many non-formal sectors, are deprived of trade union rights, he said, demanding introduction of trade unionism in all the sectors.
The Jatiya Sramik Federation Bangladesh general secretary, Safiuddin Ahmed, said the present government could not be considered worker-friendly as it had taken no step for workers’ welfare.
There is no option but to organise united movements of workers to realise their demands, Safiuddin said.
Razequzzaman Ratan, general secretary of the Samajtantrik Sramik Front, emphasised united movement of workers. ‘The workers of our country are not organised and the owners are taking its advantage to deprive them.’
Mushrefa Mishu, president of the Garments Sramik Oikya Forum, said the government was favouring garment factory owners providing them with various facilities while they are controlling the workers’ movements.
The government is planning to put in place industrial police to control labour unrest without establishing the basic rights of the workers, she said.

Courtesy of NewAge