Certain criteria not met yet for GSP Plus benefits in EU

Some gaps need to be plugged in the EU's nine-point action plan for Bangladesh in order to obtain the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status after the country's graduation from a least developed nation in 2024.

One of the major gaps lies in the freedom of association as factory workers still need the participation of 20 per cent of their colleagues to form a union.

The threshold was reduced from 30 per cent through an amendment to the labour law.

However, the 20 per cent threshold is still high when considering that many factories have thousands of workers.

Besides, representatives of various workers' organisations complain that union leaders are only allowed to be selected from workers of the establishment concerned.

This enables employers to force out union leaders by firing them for other reasons, such as 'unruly behaviour'.

However, the term 'unruly behaviour' was not properly defined in the labour law, said Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

Moazzem made these remarks while he was presenting the keynote paper in a virtual discussion styled, "EU's EBA & prospect of GSP+ for Bangladesh: addressing challenges related to labour laws and rights', jointly organised by the CPD and Networks Matter, a research firm based in Brussels.

Diplomats, government high-ups, researchers and union leaders participated in the discussion, moderated by Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the CPD.

Moazzem also said that as per the law, the government has the power to stop a strike or lockout if there is concern of "serious hardship to the community" or if the protest is "prejudicial to national interest".

However, the related terms are not properly defined by law in the discriminatory anti-strike provisions.

Strikes are prohibited in an enterprise during the first three years of operation if it is "owned by foreigners or is established in collaboration with foreigners".

There is no clearly defined role of the participatory committees as they are not empowered with the right to bargain.

If a worker is absent at the workplace without prior notice or prior permission for more than 10 days, then the worker would be given another 10 days to provide reasons for the absence.

If the worker fails to do so, he or she would be given another seven days to defend themselves.

If he or she fails to do so within the allotted time, the worker's contract would be considered 'terminated' from the date of the first day of his or her absence.

This translates to what is known as the 'loss of lien'. No definition was provided for 'disorderliness' or 'disorderly behaviour', which proved to be particularly difficult to understand for less educated workers, Moazzem said.

Bangladesh has already ratified the worst forms of Child Labour Convention (CO 182). Through the 2018 amendment of labour law, employing children under the age of 12 in any factory or establishment has been prohibited and is a punishable offence.

Eliminating child labour in order to move towards the ratification of the Minimum Age Convention (CO 138) will be difficult due to the socio-economic conditions of Bangladesh, where many children work in order to provide for themselves and their families.

The Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006, and its amendments do not explicitly address the issues of violence against workers and workplace harassment.

There are no explicit laws for addressing workplace related violence issues. Even worker unrest is sometimes considered a criminal offence.

Police force also gets involved in the event of an unrest turning violent, although the unrest usually stems from industrial disputes, according to the CPD's research director.

There are other laws in place to prevent violence against women, which would also be tried in criminal courts if they turn into 'criminal offences', but harassment in the workplace is not clearly identified by the law.

And so, the consequences of such actions are not yet delineated.

The government has already developed an indicative action plan on the basis of tripartite meetings. Preliminary comments from the EU were received on January 31, 2020, while detailed comments were received on February 27 the same year.

The EU had proposed a 'Technical EBA mission' to Bangladesh during March 10-12 last year but due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, this technical mission was replaced by a video conference that took place on March 11.

"Bangladesh has made much progress in labour rights but some progress is needed in 9 to 10 areas for further improvement to obtain the GSP Plus status to the EU after graduation," Moazzem said.

Meanwhile, Rahman said obtaining the GSP Plus status is important for Bangladesh since the EU is the country's largest export destination.

"Labour rights and human rights need to be improved for obtaining the GSP Plus," Rahman said.

Some three fifths of Bangladesh's total exports and two thirds of the total garment export are destined for the EU, where they enjoy duty free access under the EU's Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme, he added.

However, this generous preference on export would be eroded when the country graduates to a developing country in 2024, as per the rules of the EU GSP facility for LDCs.

In the case of graduation, the EU allows a three-year grace period for preparation.

Arshad Jamal Dipu, vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, and Mohammad Hatem, vice-president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, urged the government to amend the labour law with a focus on domestic issues.

For instance, some 98 per cent of the country's industrial units are run by local entrepreneurs, said Dipu.

"So, the issues of the local entrepreneurs should be focused on in the labour law," he added.

Dipu went on to say that international buyers should pay 20 to 25 per cent more than the current price for garment items from Bangladesh as it would to make local suppliers more competitive.

Rensje Teerink, ambassador of the EU in Bangladesh, said Bangladesh should make a roadmap to address the labour rights issues to be eligible for the GSP Plus status.

At the end of last December, an important meeting was held between the EU and the government in this regard, she said.

Belal Hossain Sheikh, director of the Department of Labour, said the labour ministry will launch a database within a month on trade union registration and dispute settlements.

Urging for more labour courts in the industrial zones, Razequzzaman Ratan, president of the Socialist Labour Front, said there are some 20,000 cases pending in the labour courts and 10,000 cases in the labour tribunals.

The national action plan, which the government has been making, needs tripartite consultation, said Tuomo Poutiainen, Bangladesh country director of the International Labour Organisation.

"The country needs continuity of reforms to improve the standards and governance of the labour law," Poutiainen added.