Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1999, published 88th ILC session (2000)

Right of Association (Agriculture) Convention, 1921 (No. 11) - Bangladesh (Ratification: 1972)

The Committee takes note of the Government's report. It also notes, the comments supplied by the Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labour Federation (BAFLF) received in June 1999, according to which no law has yet been enacted for agricultural workers in relation to the present Convention. BAFLF states that in 1992 the former Government established the National Labour Law Commission to analyse, add, alter, dissolve and frame labour legislation, but that nothing has been mentioned in respect of the formation of trade unions by agricultural workers. As a result, no recommendation has been made by the Commission. BAFLF also states that the Government formed a "Review Committee" to review the recommendations of the law commission but that nothing was mentioned about agricultural workers. In fact, the existing labour law is only applicable to 17 per cent of the working force and there is no legal status for 83 per cent of the labour force in the agricultural sector. According to the Government's report of 1991, the total working force is 51.2 million out of which 42.5 million are agricultural workers. It is impossible to develop agriculture and increase agricultural products by keeping such a large number of the working force unorganized.

The Committee recalls that in 1990 the Bangladesh Employers' Association had indicated that the provisions of the Industrial Relations Ordinance (IRO), 1969, applied only to agricultural workers employed in the organized sectors, namely agricultural farms, such as the tea gardens and sugar mills, and other agricultural farms run on a commercial basis and that only these enjoyed the right of association and collective bargaining and that the agricultural workers including self-employed persons were not covered by the IRO. The Government concurs with this opinion and in its previous reports had stressed that the bulk of the agricultural workers other than plantations workers, including self-employed farmers, sharecroppers and smallholders, were not covered by this law.

The Committee has also taken note that the definition of "industrial establishment" (section 2) in the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, as modified, which expressly includes plantations, i.e. any estate which is maintained for the purpose of growing cinchona, rubber, coffee or tea only applies to plantations on which 25 or more persons are employed for that purpose and thus smaller plantations are not covered by the Act.

In the light of the foregoing development, the Committee considers that there is an important gap in the legislation and the Government should take appropriate measures to modify the existing legislation or enact new laws in relation to those engaged in agriculture to ensure they enjoy the right to organize, in order to comply with its obligation to respect and fully apply this Convention.

The Committee asks the Government to provide in its next report detailed information on any legislative and other measures taken or contemplated to ensure specifically that those engaged in agriculture enjoy the same rights of association and combination as industrial workers, and to repeal any statutory or other provisions restricting such rights.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 2000.]