New labour law for tea sector underway

This was disclosed on the concluding day of a two-day workshop of tea sector stakeholders, beneficiaries and government representatives here on Friday.

The workshop, titled "ILO's Tea Sector Intervention in Bangladesh", was organized by ILO GENPROM (Gender Promotion) in collaboration with GENPROM-WEEH (Women's Empowerment through Employment and Health). It was held at the Chittagong chamber auditorium.

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Wahidul Haque, chairman of Bangladesh Cha Sangsad, was the chief guest at the workshop, chaired by Shushil Chandra Khan, joint-secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Kabir Ahmed Chowdhury, Deputy Director of the Department of Labour, presented the keynote paper at the workshop moderated by Dr. Rana P Satter, ILO Coordinator in Bangladesh.

Zahin Ahmed, Executive Director of Friends In Village Development in Bangladesh (FIVDB), Tapan Datta of Bangladesh Trade Union Kendra (BTUK),

Lotta Nycander, Chief Technology Advisor, GENPROM - WEEH, ILO, also spoke at the workshop.

It was said at the workshop that there were labour laws and policies, but their implementation to safeguard rights of workers, particularly those in tea sector, was not satisfactory.

On the other hand, of the 48 labour laws in general, five were exclusively applicable for labourers in the tea sector, the workshop was told.

As such, proper implementation and application of labour laws for tea garden workers was important, the speakers said.

Moreover, out of 184 ILO conventions, only 33 have been ratified by Bangladesh.

The speakers said tea garden workers were not getting their agreed upon salaries, pension and other benefits. Facilities for education, healthcare were insufficient and poor.

Absence of sufficient education hinders labour migration from the tea sector while the sector can not absorb the increasing work force.

There should be more jobs in the sector. But such a possibility is bleak as the export market is shrinking, rather than booming.

Moreover, an educated work force is required for development of the sector, the speakers said.