The head of garment lobbyists Tuesday voiced concern over ‘abuse’ of power by trade union leaders, saying cultural lag makes them vulnerable to malpractice. Md Atiqul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, also expressed his fear about the ‘external influence’ and political motives of bargain agents. “Our concern is that there is a lack of education, awareness on the principles of trade union, and motivation among our workers,” he said. “Their age and cultural backwardness make trade unions vulnerable to abuse the power of union,” he added. His concerns came at a social dialogue, held at a city hotel, which was jointly organised by International Labour Organization and governments of Denmark and Norway. “There is always a fear of external influence and politicisation of the trade unions that can only lead to disruption,” he said. To enable the industry to have a proper functioning of the trade union, Mr Islam said the first and the foremost prerequisite is to educate the people, increase awareness, train and motivate the workers on their rights and responsibilities. “We are in support of legal and constructive trade union, so that we can create a better industrial atmosphere, that’s our motto,” he said requesting to include the productivity and efficiency component in the social dialogue design. Tomoko Nishimoto, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific of the ILO, said there are considerable benefits to be gained by both businesses and workers from enhanced social dialogue. She added that for the workforce social dialogue can deliver enhanced wages and better working conditions by helping workers realise their fundamental rights such as freedom of association and collective bargaining. Ms Nishimoto explained that for ILO, social dialogue included all types of negotiation, consultation and exchange of information between, or among, representatives of governments, employers and workers on issues of common interest. “It is in the very real interests of both workers and businesses to have robust social dialogue at both enterprise and sectoral level,” she added. Explaining different steps taken by the government, State Minister for Labour Mujibul Haque Chunnu said law has been amended and the rules to implement the law will finalise shortly. Secretary General of the IndustriAll Bangladesh Council (IBC) Roy Ramesh Chandra said effective and meaningful dialogue is the prerequisite for a sustainable industry and a sound industrial relation is inevitable for productivity to maintain uninterrupted production process. The government should create an atmosphere so that workers can organise and bargain collectively while the employers should treat workers as partner of production, he said. “Trade unions should exercise creative and constructive and responsible role to ensure that unionisation is not a problem but a solution,” he said. He also called the brands to pay “right” price by which manufacturers can make a profit to pay the living wages of workers. Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar, Vice-President of the Bangladesh Employers Federation (BEF) Sabrina Islam, First Vice-President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) AH Aslam Sunny, Chairman of National Coordination Committee for Workers’ Education (NCCWE) Abdul Mukit Khan and ILO Country Director in Bangladesh Srinivas Reddy, among others, spoke at the dialogue.
Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/04/22/89777
