Cabinet clears labour law amendments

The Cabinet approved in principle the draft of Bangladesh Labour Act (Amendment) Bill, 2018 with more facilities for workers and reducing the workers' threshold to 20 per cent from the existing 30 per cent for forming trade unions, reports UNB.

The approval was given at the weekly meeting of the Cabinet on Monday held at the Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Under the proposed law, the percentage of workers' participation required for forming trade unions at factories will be reduced to 20 per cent from the existing 30 per cent, said Cabinet Secretary Md Shafiul Alam.

The draft bill has been prepared and updated following the observation of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)."The amended law will be a labour-friendly one," said the Cabinet Secretary.

"Under the proposed law, no child will be allowed to work in factories. If anybody employs child workers then he or she will have to pay a fine of Tk 5,000," he added.

In the draft bill, the punishment of workers for violating laws has been reduced by 50 per cent while new facilities included for them.

Under the draft law, the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment has been upgraded to the level of Directorate. The post of the chief inspector of the department is now inspector general, while deputy director general is additional inspector general, and the post of labour director has been upgraded to the rank of director general, Shafiul Alam said.

Under the proposed law, he said, mentally and physically-challenged labourers cannot be employed in any risky works.

According to section 47 of the draft, if any female worker gives birth to a baby before informing the authorities, she will get an 08-week leave within three days after informing the authorities. If the factory authorities do not allow her to go on leave, they will be fined Tk 25,000.

Besides, if any worker does his or her duty during festival, he or she will get a two-day leave and wage for two days after the festival.

Both owners and workers will be sentenced to one year jail with a fine of Tk 10,000 for misconduct, which was two years in the previous law.

Section-195 of the draft law will be applicable for factory owners and section-196 for labourers and workers.

In the draft law, the punishment for enforcing strike illegally has been reduced to six months from one year.

In case of natural death, the family of the worker concerned will get Tk 0.2 million as compensation, which was Tk 0.1 million in the previous law, and in the case of injury, they will get Tk 0.25 million, which is now Tk 0.12 million.