BANGLADESH is observing the historic May Day in memory of the workers who gave their lives 126 years ago at Chicago’s Hay Market in the USA to establish their rights at workplace including reasonable working hours. The Day is commemorated world over to protect workers from employers’ exploitation. In Bangladesh various worker rights groups and trade union bodies have chalked out programmes that include rallies and discussions in the city and at other industrial belts. The May Day is the day for taking new pledge by workers to make their workplaces safe and their rights recognized by the employers and the government to create a congenial work environment in mills and factories, shops and other business outlets. It is a day for reflection to treat workers properly in the light of domestic laws and international labour standards.
As we see, labor safety and workplace standard in Bangladesh are not quite satisfactory, particularly at garment factories, fish processing and such other industries. There are many labour laws and regulations on paper but not fully implemented to claim that we have better workplace practice and workers are paid well. The Rana Plaza accident and fire at Tazreen Garment factory in recent past came as a stark reminder to our industrial sector as to how unsafe workers are at their workplace. But since then, we must say, we have achieved sufficient improvements at work place following global outcry to strengthen safety against fire and poorly constructed factory buildings. Fire fatalities at garment factories have reasonably come down now. Meanwhile, the government has also amended existing labour law and enacted new laws to allow rights to trade union to garment workers at Export Processing Zones and workers bargaining power has significantly improved as a result of it. But we know workers at many less organized sectors remained much unprotected. Workers in agriculture sector are yet to be organized compared to highly organized transport workers. What it shows is that we have to do much more to protect our work-force although much groundwork has already been done.
On this occasion today, we lay emphasis on a three-pronged policy approach together by labour unions, industry owners and the government to create a congenial working environment in shops, mills and factories so that peace be maintained to reduce productivity losses from labour unrest. This may also create the opportunity to increase workers productivity by training and developing new skills and efficiency in our labour force. Our economy is growing fast and we must have well disciplined workers particularly in the manufacturing sector.
What is most important here is to keep union leaders out of party politics. The labourers are partner to our productive economic activities. The politicians must be refrained from using the workers for their politics. Our selfish and corrupt politics is mainly responsible for labour unrest and injustices in the industrial sector. The workers are exploited with the help of selfish politicians.
