International Trade Union Confederation

Freedom of association / Right to organise

Freedom of association

Anti-Union discrimination

Restrictions on workers’ right to form and join organisations of their own choosing

Undue or excessive privileges granted to certain organisations (such as privileges going beyond that of priority in representation for such purposes as collective bargaining or consultation by governments, or for the purpose of nominating delegates to int

Unions can only be formed at the factory/establishment level, however in some exceptional cases (such as private road transport, private inland river transport, tea, jute bailing and bidi production) unions can be based on a geographical area. There can be no more than three registered trade unions in any establishment.

Restrictions on trade unions’ right to organise their administration

Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom

Candidates for union office have to be In the case of the state owned industrial sector, unions may elect up to 10 per cent who are not employed in the establishment. In the private sector, a person may not be a member or officer of a union if not employed in the establishment.

Categories of workers prohibited or limited from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office

Other civil servants and public employees

Under the Bangladesh Labour Act (BLA) of 2006 government workers and workers employed in offices under government authority are prohibited from belonging to a trade union with the exception of railway, postal, telecommunications, public works, public health engineering and government printing press workers. Firefighters are denied the right to form unions. On the positive side, new categories of workers, including teachers and NGO workers, are permitted under the BLA to form unions.

Administrative authorities’ power to unilaterally dissolve, suspend or de-register trade union organisations

The Registrar of Trade Unions may cancel the registration of a union with Labour Court approval.

Export processing zone (EPZ) workers

A separate legal framework under the authority of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) governs labor rights in the EPZs, with approximately 458,000 workers. EPZ law specifies certain limited associational and bargaining rights for Worker Welfare Associations (WWAs) elected by the workers, such as the rights to bargain collectively and represent their members in disputes. The law prohibits unions within EPZs

Managerial and supervisory staff

Supervisory officers and persons responsible in managerial work are excluded from the definition of worker in the Labour Law, and therefore the rights with regards to freedom of association. The Labour Rules define these terms very broadly, as follows: - “Supervisory officer” means a person being authorised in writing by the employer or management who by virtue of said authority determine target of the work or service of the section of a factory or establishment, control the scope of work, control the implement of the activities, evaluate or review the work, give direction and supervise the workers; - “Any person responsible in administrative or managerial work” means a person authorised in writing by the employer or the management who by virtue of the said authority engaged in the factory or establishment in work of appointment, determination of the salary and allowances, termination and removal from employment of the workers, making final payment and approval and control of the expenditure of the establishment.

Others categories

Membership of a union is restricted only to workers currently working at an establishment, meaning that loss of employment also results in the end of a worker's membership of the union. The law further provides that even if the worker contests the termination, union membership is only returned when the worker is actually reinstated, which can take years given the slowness of Bangladesh's courts. On 5 November 2009, the Bangladesh Labour Act was amended to limit trade union activities at the Chittagong and Mongla ports. Pursuant to the new Act, each port can only have one trade union, which must be set up within six months of the day of enactment of the amendment. All existing trade union bodies will be dissolved. Only workers that have completed one year’s service can be registered as members of these trade unions. The following categories are excluded from the scope of the Bangladesh Labour Act: - Non-profit educational, training and research institutions; - Non-profit hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres; - Telex and fax operators; - Cipher assistants.

Barriers to the establishment of organisations

Power to refuse official registration on arbitrary, unjustified or ambiguous grounds

The Bangladesh Labour Law and Rules allow the Director of Labour discretion as to the registration of trade unions, permitting an arbitrary application process.

Other formalities or requirements which excessively delay or substantially impair the free establishment of organisations

The Bangladesh Labour Rules provide that “no worker shall be eligible for being a member to the executive committee unless he is employed as a permanent worker in the concerned establishment”. This means that only workers on permanent contracts can be eligible to be a member of the executive of a union, and creates the possibility of further delays to registration while employment status of executive members is checked. Similarly, the requirement that all attendees sign the general minute/resolution book of a union general meeting (previously removed by the Industrial Relations Rules 1977) may prove another obstacle to registration should the Registrar/Director of Labour cite anomalies between attendees’ signatures and the employer’s employee records.

Restrictions on trade unions’ right to establish branches, federation and confederation or to affiliate with national and international organisations

The 2013 Amendment to the Labour Act increased the number of unions required to form a federation from two to five, and required the constituent unions to be from more than one administrative division. There are seven administrative divisions. This would bar a federation of unions in Dhaka (where roughly 1/3 of the population live). The law prohibits federations with broader coverage than 1 occupation.

Restrictions on the right to freely organise activities and formulate programmes

Rule 202 of the Bangladesh Labour Rules provides that any worker representative (including a trade union, trade union federation or trade union confederation or member thereof) refrains from: 1) interfering in the administrative acts of the establishment; 2) interfering in the employment, transfer and promotion of the officers, staff and workers of the establishment; 3) accepting any transportation, furniture or financial benefits from the management; 4) interfering in the production and normal activities of the establishment; 5) calling any strike without following the procedure of law and rules. Most of these provisions are drafted so broadly as to impinge on the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Other external interference allowed by law

Rule 350 of the Bangladesh Labour Rules gives the Director of Labour sweeping powers to enter union offices to inspect the premises, all books and records and to question any person. The rule also allows all such records to be seized for up to 30 days.

Agricultural workers

Farms of less than five workers are excluded from the Bangladesh Labour Act.

Restrictions on the right to freely draw up their constitutions and rules

Section 188 of the Bangladesh Labour Rules gives the DoL the power to register and, under certain circumstances, refuse to register any amendments to the Constitution of a trade union and its Executive Council.

Right to collective bargaining

Right to collective bargaining

Restrictions on the principle of free and voluntary bargaining

Authorities’ power to intervene in the preparation of collective agreements

Under the Bangladesh Labour Rules, the Inspector General is only required to forward to the employer proposals with regards service rules (often the subject of collective bargaining) that the IG deems “reasonable”. This gives the IG total discretion to shape the outcome of the Service Rules.

Limitations or ban on collective bargaining in certain sectors

Other categories

Non-profit educational, training and research institutions Non-profit hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres Farms of less than five workers Firefighting staff Telex operators Workers in EPZs

Prohibition or limitation of collective bargaining at a certain level (local, regional, territorial, national; enterprise, industry, sector or general)

Sections 202 and 203 of the Bangladesh Labour Rules do not clearly provide a legal basis for collective bargaining at the industry, sector and national levels

Right to strike

Right to strike

Undue interference by authorities or employers during the course of a strike

Authorities’ or employers’’’ power to unilaterally prohibit, limit, suspend or cease a strike action

The government can ban any strike if it continues beyond 30 days (in which case it is referred to the Labour Court for adjudication), if it involves a public service covered by the Essential Services Ordinance or if it is considered a threat to the national interest. The government may ban strikes for renewable periods of three months.

Ban or limitations on certain types of strike actions

Restrictions with respect to the level or scope of a strike (e.g. (enterprise, industry and/or sector, regional and/or territorial, national)

At the company level, strikes are not allowed in new establishments for three years from the date they begin commercial operations, where the factory is newly built, owned by foreign investors or established with foreign aid.

Barriers to lawful strike actions

Obligation to observe an excessive quorum or to obtain an excessive majority in a ballot to call a strike

The 2013 Amendment to the Bangladesh Labour Act sets the threshold support on a vote to authorise a strike at 2/3 of all members (previously 3/4). Rule 204(2) of the Labour Rules provides that only those who are paying members of the collective bargaining agent union are eligible to vote in the secret ballot to issue notice of a strike.

Undermining of the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness

Excessive civil or penal sanctions for workers and unions involved in non-authorised strike actions

If a strike is considered a threat to the national interest, the 1974 Special Powers Act can be used to detain trade unionists without charge. Sentences of up to 14 years' forced labour can be passed for offences such as "obstruction of transport".

Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors

Other limitations (e.g. in EPZs)

The ban on strikes or lockouts in the EPZs was due to expire on 31 October 2008. However the rules allowed the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority to extend it until 31 October 2010.

Other undue, unreasonable or unjustified prerequisites

The labour law requires that parties to an industrial dispute must initiate legal proceedings (request conciliation, give notice of a strike or lockout, or refer the dispute to the Labour Court for settlement) within a specific timeframe or the authorities will consider the dispute to be terminated. Section 212 of the Bangladesh Labour Act prohibits the parties from raising the specific issue or subject again for one year after the issuing of a termination order.

Other restrictions

Other restrictions

Workers in EPZs do not have the right to strike.

Restrictions with respect to type of strike action (e.g. pickets, wild-cat, working to rule, sit-down, go-slow)

Go-slows are punished with a prison sentence under the Bangladesh Labour Rules.