Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

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

Article 1 of the Convention. The same rights of association and combination for all those engaged in agriculture as for industrial workers. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that according to the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 (BLA), all agricultural workers engaged in agricultural farms were entitled to the right of association under the BLA except those working in small farms where less than ten workers were normally employed and were normally run by individual owners with the aid of members of these families without employing any hired labour. The Committee requested the Government to indicate if workers employed in farms with less than ten workers were allowed to affiliate to a trade union at branch of activity level. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that following the amendment of the BLA in 2013, agricultural workers engaged in agricultural farms are covered by the Act and have the right to form trade unions and engage in collective bargaining, but that the BLA does not apply to those farms where less than five workers are normally employed and those who are mostly run by individual owners with the aid of members of the families and without employing workers for wage (section 1(4)(n) and (p)). While noting that the amendment of the BLA reduced from ten to five the minimum number of workers required for farms to be covered by the Act and for its workers to benefit from freedom of association and collective bargaining, the Committee recalls that, under Article 1, all those engaged in agriculture should enjoy the same rights of association and combination as industrial workers. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether workers in small farms consisting of less than five workers can, in law and practice, group together with other workers to form a trade union or affiliate to existing workers’ organizations in order to fully enjoy the rights of association and combination recognized to industrial workers.

Recalling its concerns under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), with regard to Rule 167(4) of the Bangladesh Labour Rules, which appears to introduce a new minimum membership requirement of 400 workers to establish an agricultural trade union – a requirement that is not set out in the BLA – the Committee recalls that, given the special circumstances of the agricultural sector, national laws or regulations should not establish minimum membership requirements which could impede the establishment of organizations of workers in this sector. The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether Rule 167(4) establishes a minimum membership requirement to form an agricultural trade union and to provide information on its effects in practice and its impact on the right of agricultural workers to form trade union organizations of their own choosing.

Application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, having noted the statistical information provided by the Government on the number of existing trade unions in the agricultural sector, the Committee requested the Government to provide additional information on the number of collective agreements concluded in the agricultural sector. The Committee notes the updated statistics on the number of existing trade unions (jute: 189; tobacco: 62; sugar: 15; fisheries: 51; rubber: 44; tea: 8; and dairy: 2), as well as the Government’s indication that, through bipartite or tripartite negotiations, trade unions and associations of agricultural workers conclude agreements every two years concerning terms and conditions of work, welfare facilities, insurance, health, safety and other matters. The Committee requests the Government to provide available statistics on the number of collective agreements concluded in the agricultural sector, the type of activity concerned and the number of workers covered.