Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

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

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report.

The Committee notes with regret that no additional information has been provided and that despite its numerous requests, the legislation remains unchanged.

In its previous comments, the Committee recalled 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, sugar mills and other agricultural farms run on a commercial basis, and that agricultural workers including self-employed persons, were not covered by the IRO. As a result, the labour law is only applicable to 17 per cent of the working force in the agricultural sector and there is no legal status for 83 per cent of the labour force in the agricultural sector.

The Committee emphasizes that, under Article 1 of the Convention, all those engaged in agriculture should enjoy the same rights of association and combination as industrial workers, which is particularly important in countries where a large proportion of the workforce is engaged in agriculture, and that ratifying Members undertake to "repeal any statutory or other provision restricting such rights in the case of those engaged in agriculture".

The Government had previously indicated in its report that workers not covered by the IRO enjoy the right of association through cooperative societies under the Cooperative Societies Act, 1940, for improving welfare, economic and social development. The Government added that the farmers of Bangladesh were not organized, landholdings were divided into very small units and, as such, legally based trade unions for agriculture workers were practically impossible.

The Committee urges the Government to modify the existing legislation concerning agricultural workers to ensure that all 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.

It recalls that ILO technical assistance is available in this respect should the Government so desire.