The Biden administration has announced that Bangladesh must adhere to 11 requirements outlined in a “Bangladesh Labour Action Plan” to receive additional US assistance.
Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh received the “Bangladesh Labour Action Plan” from visiting senior officials of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) at the ministry in Dhaka.
This occurred during a review meeting for the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) that was held in Dhaka in September of last year.
On 25th November, 2013, Bangladesh and the US signed the Ticfa, which established a yearly conference to identify and resolve barriers to boosting bilateral trade and investment.
Ghosh led the Bangladesh side while Brendan Lynch, assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia at the USTR, led the US side.
The first requirement is that Bangladesh must take significant steps to stop acts of violence and harassment against workers, union organisers, and lawful protestors, and to punish those who commit these crimes accountable.
Bangladesh must also remove or settle criminal charges against labour activists and make a public announcement of any real action that has been made.
The second requirement is to hold private individuals, management, and owners of factories accountable for actions that infringe upon the rights of workers as stipulated by the Bangladesh Labour Act.
Bangladesh is required to look into and address particular claims of unfair labour practices by employers, as well as enhance workers’ and trade unions’ access to justice regarding anti-union discrimination, retaliation, and other unfair labour practices.
Thirdly, Bangladesh has to amend the Bangladesh Labour Act in consultation with the International Labour Organization (ILO) to be consistent with international labour standards on freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Moreover, Bangladesh has to lower the percentage of workers required to form a trade union from the present 20 per cent to stay consistent with international labour standards and repeal provisions that call for the cancellation of a trade union if it falls below the minimum threshold.
A clause granting trade unions access to the official workforce count during the unionisation process ought to be included in the legislation.
Employers who fail to keep up such a register and who restrict the registration criteria for personal information to a birth certificate, national identity card, or factory ID card with a number may face legal punishment.
Bangladesh should do away with the requirement that a union organise a trade union and submit a constitution for registration after two general meetings attended by all members.
It should increase fines for employers who commit anti-union discrimination and unfair labour practices, and clarify that the blacklisting of workers is prohibited as an unfair labour practice and that workers and unions can directly file unfair labour practices cases with Bangladesh labour courts.
Additionally, the US administration pushed for the abolition of harsh sanctions for unauthorised strikes as well as undue limitations on the freedom to strike.
Fourth, to make the Bangladesh labour regulations more in line with the recently changed Bangladesh labour act, the USTR requested that they be revised.
According to Ghosh, Bangladesh has wanted duty-free market access for items, particularly garments manufactured from imported cotton.
Bangladesh also requested that the US International Development Finance Corporation invest money and streamline the process for registering medicinal products in the US.
A 16-point Bangladesh Action Plan was earlier presented by the Obama administration in 2013, following Bangladesh’s suspension of its GSP status due to inadequate workplace safety and labour rights.
Bangladesh has already submitted the progress report on complying with the 16-point conditions but the GSP is yet to be reinstated.
