Labour and Employment Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju on Thursday expressed his disappointment over the statement of the International Labor Organisation (ILO) over the amended Labour Law saying such adverse remarks are unexpected.Briefing reporters at his ministry, he said the amended Labour Law has been passed in parliament but it is yet to become an Act as the President has not assented to it.
“Despite that some foreign media and the ILO have expressed snide remarks which are unexpected,” Raju said.
He said since the President has not yet given his assent to the law, no gazette of the amended Labor Law, both in Bengali or English, has been published.
The ILO, in its recent statement, said a number of restrictions to workers’ freedom of association rights which have been the subject of ILO concerns were not addressed by the amendments.
For example, it said, major areas that remain to be addressed include the reduction of the 30 percent minimum membership requirement to form a union.
The amendments also do not extend the freedom of association and collective bargaining rights to workers in export processing zones, the ILO said.
Some new provisions of the law, for example with respect to rights of workers who are contracted for services and new exclusions from coverage of the labor law of certain sectors, may raise new and additional concerns about conformity with ratified conventions, the ILO statement said.
The minister said parliament has brought necessary amendments considering ground reality.
“It’s a multilateral issue, but also an ongoing process. I firmly believe there is a scope to insert and exclude clauses, if necessary, in the law. It’ll be considered in the future as part of ongoing process,” he said.
The Labour Minister expressed his hope that the ILO and other foreign organisations will feel comfort when English version of the law will be published.
Labour Ministry Secretary Mikail Shiper and leaders of different labour and employers associations were present during the briefing. – UNB
