Proposal to abolish 5pc profit share for workers rejected

Staff Reporter :

Worker leader Babul Akhtar has alleged that companies in the oil and gas sector are attempting to deprive workers of their legally mandated share of profits under the Labour Act. He said that labour leaders have rejected a proposal of abolishing 5 percent profit shares for workers.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting on the matter at the Secretariat on Thursday, Babul Akhtar said that oil and gas companies had brought forward a proposal to abolish or restrict the provision in Chapter Fifteen of the Labour Act that requires a portion of company profits to be shared with workers. “We, the labour leaders, outright rejected that proposal,” he said.

He added that the companies later presented an alternative proposal. While there could be room for discussion on that proposal in principle, there was pressure to approve it immediately. “We did not accept that pressure,” he said.

Babul Akhtar further stated that it is not appropriate to take such an important decision at the end of the government’s tenure. “That is why we said the issue should be discussed when a new government comes to power. However, at the special request of the other side, we agreed to sit for further discussions in order to better understand the proposal,” he added.

He also said that a joint meeting between labour leaders and representatives of the oil and gas sector will be held next Sunday. If the proposal is found acceptable from the workers’ perspective, it will be accepted.

Otherwise, the labour leaders will publicly expose the anti-worker stance of both domestic and foreign oil and gas companies.

Babul Akhtar said the government is claiming that it is not issuing any tenders or participating in any, but in reality it needs to be examined whether there are any bureaucratic or political reasons behind this. “This has no connection with the workers’ 5 percent profit share,” he said.

Explaining further, he said that under existing law, if a company makes a profit, 5 percent of that profit must be allocated for workers. Of this 5 percent, 80 percent is distributed equally among workers, 10 percent goes to the Workers’ Welfare Foundation, and the remaining 10 percent is deposited into the government treasury as revenue.

However, a proposal has now been brought by the Ministry of Energy stating that this 5 percent allocated for workers will not be paid. Eight foreign oil and gas companies have claimed that the rate is too high and that they cannot afford to pay it. Labour leaders argue that this provision applies only when there is profit and that it is an integral part of Bangladesh’s existing labour law.

He said the matter has not yet been finalised. For now, the government proposal has been rejected. However, the door to discussion remains open, and a final decision will be taken after the upcoming meeting.