The labour leaders blasted the government for issuing the new set of labour rules on Wednesday saying they would in no way protect the workers’ interests. They said that the new rules adopted in the light of the labour law amended in 2013 were heavily tilted in favour of the owners of apparel factories and other industries. Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015 provides 367 rules. They also 82 forms, including a prescribed form for applying seeking registration of trade unions. They also provide seven schedules, one of which contain the design of shelter of tea pickers. They said the new rules empowered the labour directorate and factory owners to interfere with trade union activities. The new rules also seek to deprive over 50 lakh workers of the fully export oriented leather and apparel industries of their five per cent share in the profits which is enjoyed by the workers in the other sectors, said the labour leaders. They said that the rules relating to payment of compensations in the event of relocation of factories formulated on the pressure from the owners of the apparel and leather factories don’t adequately protect the workers’ interests. They empowering the supervisors to sack or recommend sacking would render them non workers, in other words many workers would cease to be workers. The labour leaders said that the rules would absolve the owners of the responsibility of sacking as it would enable them to do it using the supervisors. They also opposed the provision in the new rules allowing owners to hire permanent workers through contractors. They had words of praise only for the rules relating to festival bonuses, introduction of safety committees at factories and on better accommodation for the tea-pickers. Bangladesh Employers’ Federation secretary general, Farooq Ahmed, refrained from making comments on the rules saying they were evaluating it. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice president vice president Shahidullah Azim described the new rules as friendly to workers. He praised the new rules for providing detailed explanation of the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, amended in 2013. ‘Though it would be difficult for all the factory owners to pay two bonuses a year as the rules require, even then we welcome them,’ he said. In June, the labour ministry drafted the rules following pressure from the buyers and development partners. To advance their interests, the BGMEA and the other employers mounted a huge pressure on the government over the past three months when the draft rules awaited vetting, said officials. Bu the labour leaders, who were not at all active to protect the workers’ interests, suddenly began to raise their voice after the rules had been issued, they said. Samajtantrik Sramik Front general secretary and tripartite consultative committee member Razekuzzaman Ratan said the new rules were heavily tilted in favour of the owners of apparel factories and telecom service providers. The new rules provide virtually no benefits or protection to over 7.5 crore workers, he said. The new rules provide for the collection of 0.03 per cent on each letter of credit of 100 per cent export oriented factories for the creation of a fund for providing compensations to the workers after death. But the new rules exempt the fully export oriented factories from paying five per cent of their profits to the workers as the non-exporting enterprises do, Ratan said. He said that the new rules would choke trade union activities as they provided trade union rights only to permanent workers. The new rules created the scope to treat participatory committees and safety committees, hand picked by the employers, as trade unions, said Ratan. He said that the new rules gave sweeping powers to the labour directorate to control trade union activities. The rules would stifle trade union activities by asking their leaders not to raise their voice on administrative decisions affecting promotions and transfer. Trade Union Centre general secretary and SKOP leader Wajed-ul Islam Khan said the government must provide trade union rights to both permanent and casual workers. The government ignored the demand for providing compensations to the workers in the event of relocating of a factory at a new place which is five km or more away said Wajed. Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies assistant executive director Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed described some of the new rules allowing control of trade union activities were contradictory to the letter and spirit of ILO conventions. Labour ministry secretary Mikail Shipar, however, said that the new rules had been adopted in the light of the country’s ground realities. He called the new rules as not biased to any group. He said that as several apparel factories are housed in one building some of which earn profits, incorporation of the provision of payment of five per cent of profits could prompt agitations when those not making profits cannot pay the five per cent to their workers. That is, he said, the provision for the creation of the fund for compensations, to be paid after death, has been incorporated. Mikail did not agree with the view that the new rules were restrictive to trade union activities. He justified empowering the supervisors to sack workers saying it would create no problems. He said that not all the supervisors, but only those assigned by the employers would be authorized to sack.
