Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 316, June 1999

Case No 1862 (Bangladesh) - Complaint date: 11-DEC-95 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 17. At its November 1998 meeting when it last examined this case, the Committee requested the Government to keep it informed of the measures taken to: (a) amend the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969 (IRO), to remove the requirement of 30 per cent of the total number of workers employed in an establishment or group of establishments in order for a union to be registered; (b) register the union of workers at Saladin Garments Ltd. The Committee had also requested the Government to inform it of the results of inquiries into the trade union situation at the Palmal Knitwear Factory Ltd. and the outcome of the cases filed by several activists and members of the Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers' Union (BIGU) following anti-union reprisals, as well as concerning the employment situation of Ms. Kalpana at the Palmal factory (see 311th Report, paras. 12-16).
2. 18. In a communication dated 7 March 1999, the Government states with regard to the amendment of the IRO requested by the Committee that the employers and trade union leaders (with a few exceptions) are of the opinion that the requirement of 30 per cent of all workers in an establishment for registration of a trade union is in conformity with Conventions Nos. 87 and 98. According to the Government, the welfare of working people is an important issue, while it is not important to increase the number of unions in an establishment. Past and present experience illustrates that the higher the number of unions in an establishment, the more clashes and disputes occur while productivity decreases.
3. 19. The Committee notes with regret the Government's opposition to any change in this matter and emphasizes once again that for several years now the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations has been urging the Government to review sections 7(2) and 10(1)(g) of the IRO to bring them into conformity with the requirements of the Convention (see observation, page 212 of the English text of Report III (Part 1A) of 1999). In this respect, the Committee on Freedom of Association notes that a Government representative to the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards stated in June 1998 that the Government was considering taking measures concerning these provisions. Like the Committee of Experts, the Committee can only urge the Government once again to review the situation, since the figure of 30 per cent in both small and large enterprises is excessive and considerably hinders the establishment of trade union organizations to defend workers' interests.
4. 20. As regards the application for registration of the union established in the Saladin Garments Ltd. enterprise filed on 9 April 1996, the Government states once again that the Registrar rejected it on the ground that the union failed to fulfil the registration requirements. The union appealed to the Labour Court to direct the Registrar to register it, but the case is still pending and no other union has come forward for registration.
5. 21. The Committee regrets that the registration of this trade union, for which the workers of Saladin Garments Ltd. have been applying for over three years, has still not taken place. It recalls that by ratifying Convention No. 87 the Government undertook to give effect to Article 2 thereof, i.e. to afford workers, without distinction whatsoever, the right to establish and, subject only to the rules of the organization concerned, to join organizations of their own choosing without previous authorization. The Committee urges the Government to ensure that the union of workers of the Saladin Garments Ltd. enterprise is registered without delay and to keep it informed in this regard.
6. 22. Concerning the results of the inquiries into the trade union situation in the Palmal Knitwear Factory Ltd., the Government explains that a union under the name of Palmal Knitwear Factory Ltd. Karmachari union was formed and applied for registration to the Registrar of Trade Unions, who refused it, requesting the union to rectify certain defects, which the union failed to do. The Registrar then refused the application for registration and the union appealed against this decision to the Labour Court. The employer also applied to be a contestant against the union. The Court did not allow the employer to be a contestant, and the latter filed a writ petition in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, which is still pending. In this case also, the Committee urges the Government to ensure that the Palmal Knitwear Ltd. Karmachari union is registered without delay, and requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard.
7. 23. Finally, the Government provides information on the proceedings under way concerning the cases filed by the trade union activists and members of the BIGU who were victims of anti-union reprisals, including Ms. Kalpana of the Palmal factory. The Committee notes this information and requests the Government to continue supplying additional information on the appeals that are still pending, including that of Ms. Kalpana, and to take all the necessary measures to ensure that the union activists and members who have been dismissed, harassed or blacklisted because of their membership of a trade union in the garment sector obtain redress and are reinstated in their jobs, if they so wish.