RMG workers elect union leaders through direct ballot

Workers at a garment factory in Dhaka's Mirpur have elected their trade union leaders through direct voting, a process described by the Bangladesh Apparel Workers Federation as the first of its kind in the country's garment industry.

The election of the Rising Fashions Limited Workers' Union was held on Friday (7 August) at the Rupnagar Community Centre in Mirpur, according to a press statement issued on Saturday (8 August).

The union is affiliated with the Bangladesh Apparel Workers Federation. The federation said the election was the first in the country's history to elect leaders of a basic trade union in the garment industry through direct voting.

Of the 463 registered voters, 353 cast their ballots. Md Billal Hossain was elected president, while Ziadul Islam, Akash Mia, Iqbal Hossain, Tanvir Hossain, Shirin Akter, Lima Akter and Md Riaz were elected executive members.

Rising Fashions Limited Managing Director Mahmud Hasan Khan, who is also the current president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, described the direct election process as encouraging, according to the statement.

Speaking to The Business Standard, Bangladesh Apparel Workers Federation President Towhidur Rahman said direct voting to elect factory workers' leaders would help workers in the country's apparel sector secure their legitimate rights.

He said this was the first time leaders in the apparel sector had been elected through such a process.