Significant progresses were made in different labour-related issues which would be conveyed to the United States of America (USA) soon, senior commerce secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said on Monday.
Progresses made over the last couple of months as per USA demand, including amendment of BEZA act, reduction of trade union registration threshold and the Bangladesh Labour Act also covering the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) entities would be highlighted, he told reporters after a review meeting with stakeholders on implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) on labour rights issues.
Replying to a question, Mr. Ghosh said no such situation existed in Bangladesh that would invite sanctions on its trade sector. The new USA memorandum on labour rights said that the global labour environment should be improved further. Bangladesh was working relentlessly to address the issues.
Representatives from the foreign, labour and commerce ministries, the apex trade body FBCCI as well as BGMEA and BKMEA were present in the meeting with the senior secretary of the commerce ministry in the chair at his Secretariat office.
Different labour rights-related issues and the progress in implementation of the NAP were discussed in the meeting.
Replying to another question on the European Commission's new report on Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), the senior secretary said about 60 per cent of Bangladeshi products were being exported to the European Union and the United Kingdom. They remained large markets for Bangladesh's export sector. The government was working with the trading bloc and the UK. But, they wanted more amendments regarding the labour issues. The concerned agencies of the government were working continuously.
Referring to the recent US memorandum, he explained that the government and factory owners were working on improving the working environment and labour rights. They were aware. All stakeholders including the government were continuously working on the matters.
In last one decade, different types of amendments concerning labour-related issues had been done to ensure labour rights. Already, the Bangladesh Labour Act and the minimum wages had been amended three and four times respectively. Besides, the trade union registration threshold was reduced as demanded. So, the country was doing the amendments regularly.
Tapan Kanti Ghosh said, "We are moving forward in industrialisation by improving working environment and labour rights gradually."
He also mentioned that Bangladeshi export products were enjoying duty-free and quota-free market access in the EU and in the UK.
But the products were not getting any duty-free market access in the USA. Bangladeshi exporters had to pay higher duty in exporting their products.
He also mentioned that there had been some points of demand made by the USA. They included reduction of the trade union threshold to 10 per cent and inserting the 'trade union' option into the BEPZA Act instead of the welfare association. The government was working on the issues.
"We have already reduced the trade union registration threshold to 15 per cent. The BEPZA Labour Act will be amended by involving all stakeholders by June, 2025," he added.
He said currently the global economy was under pressure. The upward export trend declined slightly. Despite these, the country made progress. Already the government announced a minimum wage rate for readymade garment workers, which would come into effect in January 2024.
"We are getting under an amendment process. We are trying to look into how we can improve the working environment and the labour rights standard. The government also is trying to take initiatives gradually for betterment of the country's labour force," the senior commerce secretary said.
Referring to the US Presidential Memorandum on advancing labour rights, Mr. Ghosh again claimed, "The memo is not only for Bangladesh but also for rest of the countries across the world."
The NAP covers broadly nine issues, including framing the Bangladesh labour law in compliance with the ILO standards on freedom of association and collective bargaining, and eliminating child labour in all its forms by 2025.
Other issues include combating violence against workers, harassment, unfair labour practices, increasing the success rate of applications submitted for trade union registration (paper and online) to a minimum of 90 per cent and avoiding discretionary refusal of trade union registrations, according to a high official at the labour ministry.
Expressing concerns over the labour and human rights situation in Bangladesh, the European Union has called for accelerating implementation of the National Action Plan on labour sector of the country to secure duty-free market access there, according to a report of the European Commission on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) covering the period of 2020-2022 published on November 21. It also said the EU would continue to closely monitor implementation of the NAP.
Referring to the recently-announced US Presidential Memorandum on advancing labour rights, the Bangladesh mission in Washington expressed concerns recently that the country might be one of the "targets" for stringent measures such as sanctions, trade penalties and visa restrictions, mentioned in a letter that sent to the commerce ministry.
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