The visiting high-powered International Labour Organisation delegation on Tuesday suggested that the government should increase the number of labour court to ensure not-delayed-justice for workers. ‘The ILO delegation has suggested increasing the number of labour court and upgrading the procedure of the court to ensure speedy disposal of the cases,’ Mujibul Haque, state minister for labour, told reporters after a meeting with the delegation at the secretariat in the city. ‘There are seven labour courts across the country, including three in Dhaka and the government is also thinking to increase the number of court and to digitalise all the systems,’ he said. According to the sector people, about 15,000 cases remain pending at the labour courts. The ILO delegation discussed the safety initiatives taken after the Rana Plaza building collapse, he said. Raising the issue of trade union, the ILO delegation said there is a disparity between Labour Act and EPZ Labour Act as trade union activities for the workers outside of the EPZs are allowed but not for those in the EPZs. ‘We told them that the EPZ Labour Act was a special act. There was a precondition from the foreign investors that trade unions would not be allowed in the zone,’ Mujibul said. According to the state minister, the visiting delegation observed that the amount of increase in penalty (to Tk 25,000 from Tk 5,000) for failure in maintaining compliance by the readymade garment factory owners in the amended labour act was still low. The ministry informed the delegation that the amount would not be revised as the labour act is not only for the RMG sector. A senior official of the labour ministry told New Age that the ILO delegation also suggested that the government should strengthen Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha to ensure planned structure and structural safety of factory buildings. They requested the government to ratify the occupational health- and safety-related ILO convention 151. Labour secretary Mikail Shiper, Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments inspector general Syed Ahmed, ILO delegation head Karon Moanghan, members Coen Kompier, Al-Wreidat Amin and Siska Dubbert were present, among others, in the meeting. The ILO delegation arrived in Dhaka on Saturday to review the improvement in working conditions and labour rights in the RMG sector, especially the progress in implementing the commitments made by the government after the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed more than 1,100 workers. The delegation met with trade union leaders and members of the standing committee on the labour ministry, leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Employers Federation.
