Z. A. M. Khairuzzaman :
Working people are the main driving force of Bangladesh’s development and economy. The number of the country’s working people stands at around seven crore and 70 lakh.
Most of them live under the poverty level. Readymade Garment (RMG) industry plays an important role in the country’ socio-economic development.
Eighty-two percent of Bangladesh’s total export earnings come from this sector. The number of working people in this sector is around 40 lakh, most of whom are women.
Despite recognition of the rights of working people in Labour Law, Constitution, International Labour Standards/ILO Convention and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in reality, their rights are still a far cry. On the other hand, no desired progress is in sight regarding implementation of the Labour Reform Commission’s (LRC) recommendations.
Since 2024, RMG Working Group Core Committee, consisting of the representatives of the platforms of RMG Trade Union organisations, is working for protection of rights of RMG workers, their welfare and improvement of their standard of living as well as RMG industry’s sustainable development.
In December 2024, the proposals of the trade unions were formally submitted to the LRC on behalf of RMG sector. It is a pleasure to mention that the proposals were adopted in the final proposals of the LRC on priority basis.
In the meantime, keeping the national parliamentary election in the forefront, a proposal paper comprising the demands of RMG workers and employees has been prepared for incorporating those in the electoral manifesto of the participating political parties.
On the eve of the national parliamentary election, RMG Working Group Core Committee has prepared a paper containing the demands of garment workers in a bid to upgrade their standard of living for submission to government/political parties and different organisations so that the government takes an initiative for their implementation and the proposals are incorporated in the election manifesto of the participating political parties/organisations.
After the election, the victorious political parties should take immediate steps for fulfilling the proposals which they incorporated in their polls manifesto. To make the relevant parties aware about the proposals, RMG Working Group Core Committee organised a press conference in the capital’s Jatiya Press Club recently.
The proposals/demands prepared by the RMG Working Group Core Committee are as follows:
1. Ensure workers’ trade union and bargaining rights as well as their legal protection as per the ILO Convention.
*Simplify the process of formation of trade union and registration for all garment workers under the same labour lawat EPZ/SEZ.
* Refrain from harassing workers and trade union members by suing them for pursuing trade union activities and joint bargaining, withdrawal of all cases and ensuring the active role of government through legal protection.
2. Sustainable development of garment industry, extension of employment opportunities and protection of job:
*Being the main foundation of the country’s export earnings, it is imperative to make the garment industry sustainable. Alongside the industry’s capacity building, it is essential to increase the employment opportunities in this sector and at the same time ensure the protection of working labourers.
3. Announce the national minimum wage and take measures for legal protection:
*Alongside legal protection, announce a universal national minimum wage and announce the wages at regular intervals and implement the same keeping consistency with the prevailing cost of living.
4. Ensure safe working environment and provide health protection:
*Strengthen healthcare service at workplace to ensure a safe working atmosphere and take accident prevention measures. It is especially important to ensure the implementation of building and fire safety and electric safety standards.
* Amend law to raise the capacity of the safety committee and that of safety officers.
5. Ensure social protection:
*Make pension and provident fund obligatory under the purview of social security and give a permanent shape to Employment Injury Scheme (EIS).
* Introduce a monthly rationing system for garment workers through cards so that they can get food and daily essentials at a subsidised rate.
* Determine a standard for coping losses during accidents as per ILO Convention 121 and High Court directives.
* Ensure standard education for workers’ children at free of cost.
*Establish specialised hospitals to provide proper healthcare service for garment workers and their families and introduce evening service in the hospitals considering workers’ requirements.
* Introduce jobless allowance/ take steps for alternative jobs during workers’ sudden joblessness.
6. Ensure housing and welfare-oriented service:
* Ensure a standard housing arrangement for all garment workers.
* Extend social welfare-oriented assistance/safety net programme for garment workers.
7. Formulatematernity-paternity and family-friendly policy:
* Like public sector, ensure6-month maternity leave with full pay, and ensure payment of the cost of child delivery and introduce paternity leave.
* Ensure maternity healthcare facilities for women workers through labour welfare centre.
* Introduce Day-Care Centre at every factory.
8. Ensure harassment-free working atmosphere:
*Ensure the working atmosphere free from sexual harassment and violence in all spheres as per ILO Convention and High Court directives (2009).
* Formulate separate law to prevent gender-based violence at the workplace.
* Introduce a safe transport system for women workers.
9. Mitigate labour unrest and ensure justice:
* Increase the number of labour courts, digitalise and make labour courts effective enough.
* Introduce Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedure to mitigate industrial unrest and speedy justice.
10. Make effective labour inspection and administrative system and ensure transparency and accountability:
* Make the labour inspection and labour administration system inclusive and impartial for the sake of the image and dignity of the country.
11. For the sake of automation, climate change and just transition, protect employability and develop technology and skill as well as implement Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD):
* Build a specialized organisation for workers’ training and skill development and ensure their skill certification process.
* For protecting workers from deprivation and inhuman situations, strong commitment towards Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) is imperative and measures should be taken for formulating HRDD-related laws.
12. Take steps to implement the recommendations of the Labour Reform Commission (LRC).
(The writer is a senior journalist and columnist. E-mail: [email protected])
