Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Bangladesh (Ratification: 1972)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received.

The Committee takes note of the observations provided by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in a communication received on 1 September 2014. The Committee takes note of the response of the Government to the 2013 ITUC observations and requests it to provide its comments on this most recent communication. The Committee takes note of the observations provided by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) in a communication received on 1 September 2014.

In its previous comment, the Committee, noting the observations submitted by the ITUC alleging the murder of a trade unionist, a union leader and two striking workers, had requested the Government to provide detailed information on any pending investigations into the serious allegations of violence and harassment. The Committee notes the numerous additional allegations of violence against trade unionists set out in the ITUC’s most recent communication. The Committee deplores that the Government has not provided any information in relation to investigations planned or carried out in respect of these allegations and in particular has provided no information on the status of the investigations in respect of the trade unionist murdered in 2012. The Committee urges the Government to provide its comments on the recent allegations of violence and harassment and to report on the status of the investigations into the 2012 murder of a trade unionist.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. The right to organize, elect officers and carry out activities freely. The Committee previously requested the Government, in light of the concerns raised by the ITUC that the progress made in registration in the ready-made garment sector (RMG) may not be seen in other sectors throughout the country, to continue to provide detailed information and statistics on the registration of trade unions by sector. The Committee notes the recent observations of the ITUC that, while there has been real progress in trade union registration, registered unions still only represent a small fraction of the 4 million workers in the RMG sector and there are a large number of registration applications that have yet to be acted upon while dozens have been rejected under the Director of Labour’s discretionary authority. The Committee once again requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information and statistics on the registration of trade unions and further requests it to respond to the issues raised in the ITUC’s observations.

Legislative reform. In previous comments the Committee took due note of the amendments made in July 2013 to the Bangladesh Labour Act (BLA) and the Government’s indication that the necessary steps may be taken to further amend the BLA in future on a tripartite basis considering the socio-economic condition of the country and that ILO assistance may be required in this regard. Regretting that no further amendments have been made to the BLA on certain fundamental matters, the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the steps taken to review and amend the following provisions: scope of the law (sections 1(4), 2(49) and (65), and 175); restrictions on organizing in civil aviation and for seafarers (sections 184(1), (2) and (4), and 185(3)); restrictions on organizing in groups of establishments (section 183(1)); restrictions on trade union membership (sections 2(65), 175, 185(2), 193 and 300); interference in trade union activity (sections 196(2)(a) and (b), 190(e) and (g), 192, 229(c), 291 and 299); interference in trade union elections (sections 196(2)(d) and 317(d)); interference in the right to draw up their constitutions freely (section 179(1)); excessive restrictions on the right to strike (sections 211(1), (3), (4) and (8), and 227(c)), accompanied by severe penalties (sections 196(2)(e), 291, and 294–296); excessive preferential rights for collective bargaining agents (sections 202(24)(c) and (e), and 204); and cancellation of trade union registration (section 202(22)) and excessive penalties (section 301).

The Committee further deeply regrets that workers are still obliged to meet the minimum membership requirement of 30 per cent of the total number of workers employed in an establishment or group of establishments for initial and continued union registration, and that unions whose membership falls below this number will be deregistered (sections 179(2) and 190(f)), while no more than three trade unions shall be registered in any establishment or group of establishments (section 179(5)). The Committee wishes once again to emphasize that such a high threshold for merely being able to form and have a union registered violates the right of workers to form organizations of their own choosing provided under Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to amend the abovementioned provisions and to provide information on developments in this regard.

Observing the Government’s previous indication that a process is under way for the drafting of supplementary implementing rules for the amended BLA, the Committee trusts that Rule 10 of the Industrial Relations Rules (IRR) 1977 upon which it previously commented is no longer being applied and expects that new Rules will be issued without further delay and will ensure that the authority granted to the Registrar does not interfere with trade union internal affairs. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in finalizing these Rules and to furnish a copy once they have been approved.

Article 5. The right to form federations. The Committee once again requests the Government to review section 200(1) of the BLA so as to ensure that the requirement of the minimum number of trade unions to form a federation (now at five) is not excessively high and thus does not infringe the right of workers’ organizations to form federations and to amend this section so that workers may form federations of a broader occupational or interoccupational coverage and that there is no requirement for the trade union members to belong to more than one administrative division.

Right to organize in export processing zones (EPZs). Referring to its previous observation, the Committee recalls that it has commented in detail on the provisions of the EPZ Workers’ Welfare Associations and Industrial Relations Act 2010 (EWWAIRA) which needed to be amended in order to bring the Act into conformity with the Convention. This included the need to amend sections 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 16 and 24, which excessively regulated the formation of Workers’ Welfare Associations (WWAs) or their higher-level organization in a manner contrary to the Convention, and sections 10, 20, 21, 24, 27, 28, 34, 38, 46 and 80, which permitted the Government’s interference in the internal activities of the WWAs. In its previous comments, the Committee noted information provided by the Government that an inter-ministerial committee had been formed to examine and prepare a separate and complete labour law as an international standard for EPZ workers. The Committee notes, however, the recent observations from the ITUC that the Cabinet tabled a draft of the Bangladesh EPZ Labour Act in July 2014, which was elaborated without consultation with workers’ representatives and which does nothing to address the concerns that had been raised under the Convention. The Committee urges the Government to carry out full consultations with the workers’ and employers’ organizations in the country with a view to elaborating new legislation for the EPZs which is fully in conformity with the provisions of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on all progress made in this regard and to transmit a copy of the legislation once it has been adopted.

Recalling the critical importance which it gives to freedom of association as a fundamental human and enabling right, the Committee trusts that significant progress will be made in the very near future to bring the legislation and practice into conformity with the Convention on all of the abovementioned points.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2015.]