Workers in garment factories are still being blacklisted: Labour leaders
The issue has also drawn criticism from the global community toward Bangladesh. However, factory owners have not openly admitted to the practice of blacklisting.
Labour leaders have alleged that workers in the country's ready-made garment factories are still being blacklisted under various pretexts.
They made these remarks on Tuesday at a meeting titled "Stakeholder Meeting on Labour Law Amendment", organised by the Labour Rights Organisation Solidarity Centre at a hotel in Paltan, Dhaka.
"Blacklisting in RMG factories is still happening. It's not always done directly, but in different ways," said Md Towhidur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Apparels Workers Federation.
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He added that the practice of blacklisting workers has even been acknowledged by representatives of factory owners.
Salahuddin Shapon, former general secretary of IndustriAll Bangladesh Council, said, "Blacklisting existed in the past, and it still exists today. We have to come out of this system."
Notably, when workers in any factory are dismissed for engaging in activities considered "anti-industrial," they often cannot find employment in other factories. Workers believe that factory owners share such information on a specific server, preventing these workers from being hired elsewhere.
The issue has also drawn criticism from the global community toward Bangladesh. However, factory owners have not openly admitted to the practice of blacklisting.
Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, chief of the Labour Reform Commission, said, "We haven't been able to progress with labour law reforms as per everyone's expectations. This cannot be achieved through a single movement. But we must continue our struggle."
Among others, AKM Nasim, Country Program Director of Solidarity Center-Bangladesh Office and a member of the Labour Reform Commission, also spoke at the meeting.
