EPZ workers should have right to form trade unions, labour experts urge govt

Labour rights experts have called for sweeping reforms to the Bangladesh EPZ Labour Act, 2019, saying workers in the country's export processing zones (EPZs) should enjoy the same rights guaranteed under national labour law, including the right to form and join trade unions.

The call was made at a stakeholders' meeting titled "The Opportunity to Strengthen the Legal Framework Governing Labour Relations in the Export Processing Zones", organised by Solidarity Center at a hotel in Dhaka yesterday (16 June), according to a press release issued by its Dhaka office.

The discussion comes as the government initiated the process of amending the existing law governing EPZs.

Speakers noted that EPZs contribute more than 17% of Bangladesh's total exports and employ more than five lakh workers, yet these workers operate under a separate legal framework that denies them the right to form and join trade unions.

Solidarity Center Country Programme Director (CPD) AKM Nasim, while presenting the keynote paper at the event, said critical gaps remained in freedom of association, collective bargaining, grievance resolution and access to legal remedies under the EPZ Labour Act.

"Workers' Welfare Associations, the only form of worker organisation permitted under the law, cannot substitute for independent trade unions," he said.

According to the paper, the legal framework governing WWA formation is complex, restrictive and opaque. Workers face significant procedural barriers in establishing representative bodies, while Section 178 of the Act prevents WWAs from engaging with NGOs, trade unions and civil society organisations outside the zones, limiting workers' access to legal assistance, training and support.

Referring to the proposed amendment to the EPZ Labour Act, Nasim said, "If nothing meaningful comes out of it, it will face criticism, and the entire amendment itself will be called into question."

"For that reason, the ILO needs to play a role," he added.

The keynote paper identified several areas requiring legislative action, including stronger protection against arbitrary termination, extended maternity benefits in line with recent amendments to the Bangladesh Labour Act, improved lay-off compensation, fair disciplinary procedures and removal of contradictions between the Act and its subordinate rules.

It also pointed out that a provision in the 2022 Rules reduces retirement compensation below what is guaranteed under the parent Act.

Labour leader Abul Kalam Azad, president of the Bangladesh Tannery Workers Association, said workers' dissatisfaction could remain even if they received benefits and facilities if they were not allowed to express their views.

"No matter how many benefits or facilities workers are given, dissatisfaction can arise if they are not allowed to voice their opinions," he said.

"The country's Constitution and ILO conventions have granted them that right – the right to freedom of association," he added.

Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, executive director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies and former chair of the Labour Reform Commission, questioned the process of labour law reform.

"We should question who reforms the law and which side they represent. Any dialogue without ensuring labour representation in reforming laws for workers is futile," he said.

Neeran Ramjuthan, programme manager for the Labour Administration and Working Conditions cluster at the ILO Bangladesh country office, along with other labour leaders, also spoke at the event.