Amend EPZ labour law by 2023: EU

A high-profile European Union (EU) delegation yesterday demanded that a labour law meant for export processing zones (EPZs) be amended by 2023 instead of 2025 for Bangladesh to be eligible for a new Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme.

There is one labour law in the country ensuring freedom of association to workers of factories outside of the EPZs while another EPZ labour law enables unionism for workers of factories inside EPZs under a "Workers Participation Committee".

However, the EU demanded that there be a uniform law for all workers. The EPZ labour law was first supposed to be amended by December last year. Then Bangladesh sought to do it by 2025.

The EBA provides least developed countries (LDCs) duty-free, quota-free access for all products except arms and ammunition to the world's largest trade bloc. It was launched in 1971 with a view to bringing a balanced economic order worldwide.

Earlier, the visiting EU delegation expressed concerns over the amendment delay.

The demand for expediting the amendment process came at a meeting with Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh in Dhaka on Tuesday night.

In the unscheduled meeting, the delegation also said the EU was assessing whether compliance to human and labour rights laws were in tune with the new EBA conditions.

The EU has been working on a new Generalised Scheme of Preferences proposed under the EBA for the LDCs for 10 years starting from 2024.

"We have asked the EU for considering Bangladesh's proposal for amending the EPZ labour law by 2025," said Md Abdur Rahim Khan, joint secretary to the commerce ministry. 

"A lot of progress has already been made for the amendment," said Khan, who was present at the meeting.

He also said a draft copy of the amendment has already been sent to the law ministry for vetting before it was placed in parliament for the final approval.

Besides, rules of the general labour law may be amendment by June this year, he said.

The government has been working to recruit a good number of inspectors for the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment to strengthen monitoring, said Khan.

Bangladesh also demanded that the EU facilitate trainings for industrial police for enhancing improvements to work environments in industrial areas, he added.

Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said Bangladesh has made laudable progress in executing the action plan to be eligible for the EBA.

However, meetings could not be held regularly for the timely amendment of the EPZ labour law for the pandemic, he said.

"So we asked the EU delegation to consider deferring the amendment to be done by 2025," Ghosh also.

Moreover, there has been good progresses regarding Bangladesh ratifying ILO Convention 138, amendment to rules of the labour law and elimination of child labour from different sectors, except that of garments, Ghosh also said.

The delegation held meetings with senior officials of the ministries of labour, commerce and foreign affairs to assess the progress of the reforms as per their action plan.

The team included Jordi Curell Gotor, director for international affairs, Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and Benedikt Bunker, policy officer, Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission.

Ivo Schutte, deputy head of division, Asia and the Pacific–Regional Affairs and South Asia, European External Action Service, and Alessandro Tonoli, policy officer, Directorate General for Trade, European Commission, are also in the delegation.