Worker Rights:
a. The Right of Association
The Constitution guarantees freedom of association, the right to join unions, and,
with government approval, the right to form a union. With the exception of workers in
the railway, postal, telegraph, and telephone departments, the law forbids
government civil servants to join unions. This ban also applies to security-related
government employees such as the military and police. Civil servants forbidden to
join unions, such as teachers, doctors, and nurses, have formed associations
that perform functions similar to labor unions.
Approximately 1.6 million members of the country's total work force of about 45 to
50 million workers belong to unions.
For a union to obtain and maintain its registration, 30 percent employee
participation is required. Registration of a union may only be canceled by the
registrar of trade unions with the concurrence of the Labor Court. There are no
restrictions on affiliation with international labor organizations, and Bangladeshi
unions and federations maintain a variety of such links.
Ten to 15 percent of Bangladesh's approximately 4,200 labor unions are affiliated
with 23 officially registered National Trade Union (NTU) centers. There is no legal
restriction on political activity by labor unions. Unions are independent of the
Government. They are highly politicized, and virtually all NTU centers are affiliated
with political parties.
The law does not specifically recognize the right to strike, but strikes are common.
The Government prohibits nationwide general strikes. Participation in such a strike is
a criminal offense. Nonetheless, the political opposition continues to use general
strikes to pressure the Government on political demands.
The Essential Services Ordinance permits the Government to bar strikes for 3
months in any sector regarded as "essential." The Government has applied this ban
to national airline pilots, water supply workers, shipping operations employees, and
electricity supply workers. The Government renews such bans every 3 months.
The Government may prohibit a strike before it begins and refer the dispute to the
Labor Court. The Industrial Relations Ordinance of 1969 established mechanisms for
conciliation, arbitration, and labor dispute resolution. Workers have the right to strike
in the event of a failure to achieve a settlement. Strikers participating in a legal strike
are protected from retribution under the law. In practice this protection has not always
proven effective.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Collective bargaining is legal only for private sector workers, on the condition that
they are represented by unions legally registered as collective bargaining agents.
Collective bargaining generally does not occur in small private enterprises. The
National Pay and Wages Commission recommends public sector workers' pay levels
and other benefits.
Under the Industrial Relations Ordinance, there is considerable leeway for
discrimination against union members and organizers by employers. The Ordinance
does not prohibit employers from transferring workers suspected of union activities.
Complaints that employers routinely engage in antiunion discrimination are
particularly high in the garment industry. In several cases the Labor Court has
ordered the reinstatement of workers fired for union activities. However, the Labor
Court's overall effectiveness is hampered by a serious case backlog and allegations
of corruption.
Current law prohibits unions in the two export processing zones (EPZ's). A small
number of workers in the EPZ's have skirted prohibitions on unions by setting up
worker associations. The Government has stated that restrictions on the
establishment of unions in the EPZ's will be lifted by 1997. So far, no action toward
this end has been taken. In the garment industry, there have been complaints of
workers being harassed and fired in some factories for trying to organize unions.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor. The Factories Act and
Shops and Establishment Act, both passed in 1965, established inspection
mechanisms to enforce laws against forced labor. These laws are not rigorously
enforced. There is forced labor to the extent that workers are often required to work
longer hours than stipulated by law, with no special compensation. This is often the
case in the garment industry.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The Factories Act of 1965 bars children under the age of 15 from working in
factories. This law stipulates that young workers are only allowed to work a
maximum 5-hour day and only between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The
Government does not adequately enforce these rules.
According to U.N. estimates, about one-third of the population under the age of 18
is employed. Children routinely perform domestic work. Cases of children being
physically abused and occasionally killed by heads of household where they work
are reported in the press.
Employers discharged thousands of underage workers employed in Bangladesh's
garment industry in 1993-94. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association has pledged to eliminate all child workers from its member factories and
is cooperating with the Government, the International Labor Organization, and NGO's
to achieve this goal.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
There is no national minimum wage. The Wages Commission sets wages industry
by industry. In most cases, private sector employers ignore this wage structure. In
1993 the Confederation of Labor Unions won a minimum wage agreement for public
sector factory workers that was slightly above the level recommended by the Wages
Commission. According to the agreement, government factory workers receive about
$ 24 (950 taka) a month plus benefits. Private sector wages tend to fall below the
government wage and benefits package. The average monthly wage is sufficient to
provide bare necessities.
The law sets a standard 48-hour workweek with 1 rest day each week. A 60-hour
workweek, inclusive of a maximum 12 hours of overtime, is allowed. The law is
poorly enforced.
The Factories Act of 1965 nominally sets occupational health and safety
standards. The law is comprehensive, but many employers ignore it. Workers rarely
resort to legal action to enforce the law. Enforcement by the Labor Ministry's
industrial inspectorate is weak. Because unemployment is high and the Government
does not adequately enforce health and safety standards, most workers do not
excuse themselves from performing hazardous tasks for fear of losing their jobs.