BKMEA wants changes to amended labour law

The Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) has sought changes in the labour law, which was amended during the immediate past interim government, as the trade body claims their opinions were not addressed in the final gazette.

At a press conference at the trade body’s Dhaka office, BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem said the definition of workers that was agreed upon in the meetings of the Tripartite Consultative Council (TCC) was not included in the gazette.

In the final gazette, the officers and executives of factories and companies have also been classified as workers.

Moreover, in the TCC meetings it was decided that if a factory management adopts the government-sponsored Progoti Universal Insurance Scheme, it would serve as the provident fund for them, Hatem said.

But in the final gazette, it was stated that workers must apply for the Progoti Universal Insurance Scheme to be entitled to the provident fund, he added.

Otherwise, factory owners will have to manage the provident fund separately for workers who did not apply for the Progoti Universal Pension Scheme. This results in double expenditure for factories, and management also needs to recruit separate officers to handle the provident fund, which is costly, he said.

The government should change these issues in the amended labour law before taking it to parliament for further debate, the BKMEA president said.

During the last interim government, the labour law was amended through an ordinance, mainly under pressure from international communities such as the European Union and the International Labour Organisation, he said.

Another important issue that the government needs to address in the labour law is the eligibility of workers for the provident fund.

Hatem said usually a worker becomes eligible for the provident fund after serving for two or three years.

But the amended labour law states that workers should be entitled to the provident fund from the very first day of joining, which needs to be changed, Hatem said.