Prospect of establishing labour rights

Labour leaders vented their frustration over the shrinking of prospect of putting in perspective the rights of the workers at a workshop titled, "Labour Law Amendment and Protection of Labour Rights" organised jointly by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) and the Solidarity Center in the city on Saturday. This sounds rather anachronistic because a tripartite agreement signed by the stakeholders and the government on September 24 last was supposed not only to resolve the protracted disputes between the RMG workers and employers but also pave the way for gradually inking similar accords in other informal sectors. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) which has been following the developments including unrest in the RMG sector and recommended remedies for dispute resolution, was prompted to call the agreement a 'landmark' accord. This was not for nothing. The ILO found that implementation of the agreement would ensure RMG workers' rights as well as provide the industry with the much needed stability by improving employer-employee relations.

But things fell short of both the workers' and the ILO's expectation largely because some RMG factory owners failed to honour the agreement. Under the agreement, some basic issues such as outstanding dues, attendance bonus etc; had to be addressed immediately and the rest stage by stage within a timeframe. The agreement was inked following the ILO's suggestion for reforming wage structure and amendment to labour law. Clearly, not all factory owners are ready to share the benefits or profits in a more rational way. Thus the labour unrest continued in the RMG industrial belt and within a week violent clashes between workers and law enforces left one worker dead and several others injured. It seems that some profit-mongering owners are yet to reconcile with the changed perspective following the success of the anti-discrimination movement responsible for blowing fresh air into all areas of life and livelihoods, including the industrial sector.

Here the industrial relations in the RMG factories are crucial for the simple reason that together they garner about 85 per cent of the foreign exchange for the country. So the role of the leaders of the two RMG associations is also crucial in impressing upon the non-implementing members of the two organisations. The labour leaders' frustration is understandable because they complain that 85 per cent of workers in the non-formal factories and enterprises are not covered by the labour law. Many of them are not even recognised as workers because the definition of a worker is not clear. They are recruited without appointment letter and cannot even claim compensation for death or injuries in workplaces because of a lack of any document.

If the RMG could set the standard for labour relations, other factories and units in the informal sector would have felt the pressure of following suit. Leaving the manufacturing sector in such a chaotic and disorderly state certainly does not help either industrial production or economic justice to workers. All manufacturing units must be brought under the ambit of the ILO-suggested industrial law. Without this industries cannot elevate to the next level nor can it conform to the vision of elimination of yawning discrimination in society. The fruits of labour have to be commensurate with the profits earned by any manufacturing plant or unit.