Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies

Last updated
BILS
Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies
Established1995
Type Think tank
Location
Chairman
 Md. Habibur Rahman Shiraz
Secretary General
 Nazrul Islam Khan
Executive Director
 Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed
Publication Labour
Affiliations BGWUC
Website bilsbd.org

The Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) is a think tank for trade union activity and other labour matters in Bangladesh. It was founded in 1995 to support the building of trade unions and their activities and to promote trade union causes within government and society. [1] Today, 12 Bangladeshi trade union federations are affiliated with BILS. Unlike many other labour organisations in Bangladesh, the institute is not affiliated with any political party. [2] The institute publishes a biannual journal, Labour.

Contents

Organisation

The main office of BILS is in Dhaka. The institute also has a "Labour Resources & Support Centre" in Chittagong and another office in Manikganj.

BILS frequently cooperates with the German social democratic Friedrich Ebert Foundation and The Daily Star.

The work of BILS has been described by academics as having "provided significant boosts to the efforts of resource-starved Bangladesh unions." [3]

Chairpersons and Secretaries General
PositionNameOrganisation
Chairman Habibur Rahman Shiraz -
Vice Chairman Md. Mojibur Rahman Bhuiyan BMSF
Vice Chairman Shirin Akhter JASAD
Vice Chairman Anwar Hossain BJSD
Vice Chairman Amirul Haque Amin NGWF
Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan -
Jt. Secretary General Md. Serajul Islam BJSL

History

BILS was founded in 1995.

In April 2006, BILS initiated meetings between trade unions that resulted in a ten-point charter of demands for the improvement of garment workers' labour conditions, especially a raise of the minimum wage. This charter led to the creation of the Minimum Wages Board and the 7-grade minimum wage structure for garment workers still in use today. [4]

Also in 2006, BILS together with trade unions, human rights organisations and NGOs formed the Domestic Workers' Rights Network in order to improve the working conditions of domestic workers in Bangladesh. [5] In 2010, the alliance drafted a policy proposal for the protection of domestic workers that was adopted by Bangladesh's government in 2015. [6]

Following the 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse, BILS joined the Rana Plaza Coordination Committee that led the distribution of payments to the families of those killed and injured by the disaster. [7]

In 2017, BILS conducted a study that found Bangladesh factories did not follow ILO standards for minimum work hours and workplace safety. The survey found that instead of eight hours a day, workers in Bangladesh on average work 12 hours a day. Nearly half of the surveyed transport workers worked for more than 15 hours a day. [8] [9] In that year, the institute together with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation also conducted a three-month training course on labour policy and workers' rights for 16 young trade union leaders. [10]

In 2018, BILS called for the abolishment of the regulation that 20 percent of a factory's workers were needed to form a union. [11] In the same year, the institute conducted a study that documented lacking compliance with labour laws in Bangladesh's informal sector. [12] The institute, together with Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad and the National Workers Federation, in that year also published 16 demands to improve the working conditions of rickshaw pullers. [13]

During the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, BILS called for the establishment of a national database of unemployed workers to help with their protection. [14]

Related Research Articles

Labour laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer and union. Individual labour law concerns employees' rights at work also through the contract for work. Employment standards are social norms for the minimum socially acceptable conditions under which employees or contractors are allowed to work. Government agencies enforce labour law.

Economy of Bangladesh National economy

The Economy of Bangladesh is characterised as a developing market economy. It is the 33rd largest in the world in nominal terms, and 31th largest by purchasing power parity. It is classified among the Next Eleven emerging market middle income economies and a frontier market. In the first quarter of 2019, Bangladesh's was the world's seventh fastest-growing economy with a rate of 8.3% real GDP annual growth. Dhaka and Chittagong are the principal financial centres of the country, being home to the Dhaka Stock Exchange and the Chittagong Stock Exchange. The financial sector of Bangladesh is the third largest in the Indian subcontinent. Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing economies in the world as well as the fastest growing economy in South Asia.

Sweatshop Workplace that has socially unacceptable working conditions

A sweatshop or sweat factory is a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. Some illegal working conditions include poor ventilation, little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting, or uncomfortably high temperatures. The work may be difficult, tiresome, dangerous, climatically challenging or underpaid. Workers in sweatshops may work long hours with unfair wages, regardless of laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage; child labor laws may also be violated. Women make up 85 to 90% of sweatshop workers, some employers force them to take birth control and routine pregnancy tests to avoid supporting maternity leave or providing health benefits. The Fair Labor Association's "2006 Annual Public Report" inspected factories for FLA compliance in 18 countries including Bangladesh, El Salvador, Colombia, Guatemala, Malaysia, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, China, India, Vietnam, Honduras, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, and the US. The U.S. Department of Labor's "2015 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor" found that "18 countries did not meet the International Labour Organization's recommendation for an adequate number of inspectors."

Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influence working conditions in relations of employment. One of the most prominent is the right to freedom of association, otherwise known as the right to organize. Workers organized in trade unions exercise the right to collective bargaining to improve working conditions.

Ethical trade

The term ethical trade first gained currency in the mid-1990s, where it was used as a term for socially responsible sourcing. Ethical trade addresses the ethical aspects of organisations including worker welfare, agricultural practice, natural resource conservation, and sustainability of the environment. Since then, numerous multinational organisations have adopted ethical trade policies by outsourcing to auditing companies to monitor the conditions of workers in their supply chains. The leading alliance of these companies, trade unions and non-governmental organisations is the Ethical Trading Initiative. to support business

Textile industry in Bangladesh Regional economic sector in South Asia

The textile and clothing industries provide a single source of growth in Bangladesh's rapidly developing economy. Exports of textiles and garments are the principal source of foreign exchange earnings. By 2002 exports of textiles, clothing, and ready-made garments (RMG) accounted for 77% of Bangladesh's total merchandise exports.

Child labour in Bangladesh Overview about child labour in Bangladesh

Child labour on Bangladesh is common, with 4.7 million children aged 5 to 14 in the work force. Out of the child labourers engaged in the work force, 83% are employed in rural areas and 17% are employed in urban areas. Child labour can be found in agriculture, poultry breeding, fish processing, the garment sector and the leather industry, as well as in shoe production. Children are involved in jute processing, the production of candles, soap and furniture. They work in the salt industry, the production of asbestos, bitumen, tiles and ship breaking.

2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse Industrial building collapse in Savar, Bangladesh

The 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse was a structural failure that occurred on 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka District, Bangladesh, where an eight-story commercial building called Rana Plaza collapsed. The search for the dead ended on 13 May 2013 with a death toll of 1,134. Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued from the building alive. It is considered the deadliest non-deliberate structural failure accident in modern human history and the deadliest garment-factory disaster in history.

Export-oriented employment

Export-oriented employment refers to employment in multinational corporations' international industrial factories, usually located in developing countries. Such factories produce goods and services for sale in other countries. While these multinational producers have globally expanded women's access to employment, evidence suggests they do so by reinforcing traditional gender roles or creating new gender inequalities. Such gender inequities allow multinational firms to greater exploit profits per worker than they would otherwise due to the decreased labor cost. This decrease in the cost of labor comes as a result of the relegation of women to certain occupations. Studies show that in the quest for lower unit labor costs, export-oriented facilities create poor working conditions.

Bangladesh Homeworkers Women Association, also known as BHWA, is an NGO, headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is mostly known for working with the underprivileged homeworkers, also known as home-based workers by initiating social awareness programs, advocacy workshops, originating policy drafts, development and recommendation. BHWA focuses on key issues such as the elimination of child labour, female labourers' rights in the informal sector, occupational health and safety for women workers who are not covered by the Labour Code in Bangladesh.

Kalpona Akter

Kalpona Akter is a labour activist from Bangladesh. She is the founder and executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity and was awarded Human Rights Watch's Alison Des Forges award for Extraordinary Activism in 2016.

The Bangladesh Garment Workers Trade Union Centre (GWTUC) is a trade union federation of garment workers in Bangladesh. It is one of the largest trade unions in that sector, with more than 20 factory trade unions affiliated to it. It has enough members to be formally recognised as a trade union, but does not have that status, as is not uncommon for left-oriented unions in Bangladesh. Politically, GWTUC is aligned with the Communist Party of Bangladesh.


The Garment Workers Unity Forum (GWUF) is a national trade union federation of garment workers in Bangladesh.

The National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) is a registered national trade union federation of garment workers in Bangladesh. With 87 registered factory unions, it ifs considered one of the four main federations of garment workers' unions. NGWF is the initiator and a member of the Bangladesh Garments Workers Unity Council and a member of the Bangladesh Center for Workers' Solidarity. It is affiliated with the IndustriALL Global Union and one of the signatories of the Bangladesh Accord.

The Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers Union Federation (BIGUF) is a trade union federation of garment workers in Bangladesh. It is considered one of the four main federations of garment workers' unions. BIGUF is affiliated with the IndustriALL Global Union and a member organisation of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity. It is also one of the signatories of the Bangladesh Accord. Unlike many other trade unions in Bangladesh, it is explicitly not affiliated with any political party.

The National Coordination Committee for Workers' Education (NCCWE) is a national trade union centre in Bangladesh. The centre unites 14 national trade union federations. It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation, the World Federation of Trade Unions and the International Transport Workers Federation. It is also supported by the International Labour Organization.

The Bangladesh Garments Workers Unity Council (BGWUC) is a national trade union centre in Bangladesh. The centre unites 21 garment worker trade union federations.

Joly Talukder is the current general secretary of the Bangladesh Garment Workers Trade Union Centre (GWTUC).

Mushrefa Mishu is a Bangladeshi trade unionist and politician. She is the current president of the Garment Workers Unity Forum and general secretary of Bangladesh's Democratic Revolutionary Party.

The Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU) is a trade union federation of manufacturing workers in Cambodia. The federation was founded in 2011 and is affiliated with the Cambodian Confederation of Unions and IndustriALL Global Union.

References

  1. ↑ "HISTORY & BACKGROUND". Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  2. ↑ LABOUR MARKET PROFILE BANGLADESH - 2020 (PDF) (Report). Danish Trade Union Development Agency. p. 8.
  3. ↑ Rahman, Zia; Langford, Tom (2012). "Why labour unions have failed Bangladesh's garment workers". In Mosoetsa, Sarah; Williams, Michelle (eds.). Labour in the Global South. Challenges and Alternatives for Workers (PDF). ILO. p. 100. ISBN   978-92-2-126239-8.
  4. ↑ Dr Abdullah Al Faruque (2009). Current Status and Evolution of Industrial Relations System in Bangladesh (PDF) (Report). ILO. p. 42.
  5. ↑ Murshida Akter Nahar. "Domestic Workers in Bangladesh" (PDF). ITUC . Domestic Workers' Rights Network. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  6. ↑ Siddiqua, Fayeka Zabeen (2016-05-13). "Maid in Bangladesh". The Daily Star . Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  7. ↑ RANA PLAZA 3 YEARS ON: COMPENSATION, JUSTICE, WORKERS’ SAFETY (Report). Clean Clothes Campaign. p. 2.
  8. ↑ "Factories don't follow standards for work-hour, study finds". The Daily Star. 2017-05-30. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  9. ↑ "They toil for 12 hours a day, not 8". The Daily Star. 2017-05-01. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  10. ↑ "16 young trade union leaders trained". The Daily Star. 2017-10-30. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  11. ↑ "Abolish limits on workers' participation: experts". The Daily Star. 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  12. ↑ "Benefits elude workers with no job contracts". The Daily Star. 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  13. ↑ Jahan, Nilima (2019-02-10). "Pulling the weight of the world". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  14. ↑ Parvel, Sohel (2020-05-01). "More than a crore with no job and hope". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2021-01-05.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.