3 unions can be formed in a factory

The interim government had initially created an opportunity to form a maximum of five trade unions within an organisation or factory in the country.

However, this has now been reduced to three. Additionally, the definition of “worker” has also been modified. Furthermore, employers have been granted some relief in establishing provident funds.

Last Thursday, the government passed the Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Bill in the National Parliament. During the tenure of the outgoing interim government, the Labour Law (Amendment) Ordinance–2025 was promulgated. With some amendments, the bill has been passed. Once President Md Sahabuddin signs the bill, it will become law.

Several labour leaders have stated that the Labour Ordinance has been amended in favour of what the employers wanted. There was no discussion on this matter in the meeting of the Tripartite Consultative Council (TCC), which is constituted with representatives of employers, workers, and the government.

On the other hand, employer representatives have stated that even after the amendments, some ambiguities remain, which are undesirable. The labour law will need to be amended again in the future.

When asked, Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), told Prothom Alo, "The government has changed everything that the employers objected to. On the other hand, the objections raised by the labour organisations were not considered. Over more than three years, discussions in the TCC meetings finalised what amendments would be made. However, bringing changes overnight without any discussion disregards an internationally recognised legal process. We reject this."

The outgoing interim government promulgated the Labour Law (Amendment) Ordinance last November. Before that, at a meeting of Council of Advisors on 23 October, the amendments to this law were finally approved. This included replacing the word "woman" with "female," the provision for forming a trade union with the consent of 20 workers, forming a wage board every three years, making provident funds mandatory if an establishment has 100 workers, increasing maternity leave from 112 to 120 days, increasing annual festival leave from 11 to 13 days, among various other changes. These changes have remained unchanged in the passed bill.

The ordinance stipulated that no more than five trade unions could be formed in any establishment or group of establishments for workers or officers. In the passed bill, this opportunity has been reduced to three. Previously, there was a provision for a maximum of three trade unions. If there are multiple trade unions in an establishment, a representative for collective bargaining agreement (CBA) must be selected through a secret ballot vote. If there is only one trade union, it will be deemed as the CBA.

Furthermore, the ordinance mentioned the inclusion of employees and officials in the definition of workers. However, in the bill passed by the National Parliament, the words "employee" and "officer" have been removed from the definition of workers.

The government has also made amendments regarding provident funds in the passed bill. The ordinance had stated that institutions with at least 100 permanent workers must mandatorily set up a provident fund. However, the employers were required to initiate the “Progoti” national pension scheme for those workers who apply in writing.

The bill that was passed now states that if two-thirds of the workers apply to join the Progoti scheme, the institution will be exempted from setting up a provident fund. In both cases, the owner will contribute 50 per cent of the fund, with the remaining contribution made by the workers.

When asked, Mohammad Hatem, President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), told Prothom Alo, "What changes will be made in the labour law should be determined by consensus in the TCC meeting. However, bypassing this, the interim government issued an ordinance making several amendments to the draft. We requested the current government to make amendments based on consensus in the TCC meeting. Although not all amendments have been made, some ambiguities remain. These need to be clarified in the labour regulations. If the law is amended again in the future, these ambiguities need to be removed."

The government made amendments to the ordinance without any consultation with the TCC and labour leaders. This is a clear violation of Article 144 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Babul Akhter, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation, mentioned to Prothom Alo that the opposition party did not discuss the bill for even a minute in the National Parliament. He added that after the amendments to the labour law, its implementation must be emphasised; otherwise, the workers will not receive any benefits.