The government has formed a committee to finalise the draft of the amendments to the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 within the timeframe it promised to the International Labour Organisation.The nine-member convening committee headed by the labour secretary would finalise the initial draft of the amended labour laws to produce it before the stakeholders and later it will prepare the final draft to produce it before a cabinet meeting, said a gazette notification issued on Thursday.According to the notification, the committee would give suggestions to the feasibility study committee for the amendment of labour laws and to exchange views with the local and international stakeholders over the amendments to the laws.The committee would also review the report submitted by the feasibility study committee.Labour ministry joint secretary Md Aminul Islam will act as member secretary of the committee.The committee members are: president of Bangladesh Employers Federation, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, BEF adviser Qumran T Rahman, president of Jatiya Sramik League, former Jatiya Sramik League president Abdus Salam Khan, Bangladesh Trade Union Sangha general secretary Chowdhury Ashikul Alam.Labour secretary Mikail Shipar on Monday told New Age that the committee would prepare the final draft of the amended labour laws.‘After getting the initial draft from the technical committee, we will start working on it to finalise the draft,’ he said.Presently, two technical committees are working to prepare the draft of EPZ labour laws and the amended labour laws.Another feasibility study committee for the amendment of labour laws is working to expedite the process as Bangladesh promised to produce the draft of the amended labour law and EPZ labour law before an ILO committee by the end of November.
