By Anika Mardiah Chowdhury
Bangladesh is a populated country; here, people are included in the labor force. Most labor organizations, companies, and garment companies have their own rules and regulations, but all of them have to follow the minimum statutory standards and make rules according to them. The Bangladesh Labour Law of 2006 and the Labour Rules and Regulations of 2015 govern the Recruitment Act or the Federal Labour Act. In this article, the employee in the workplace has the right to weekly vacations, annual leave working hours, wages, and other rights shall be covered.
In the Labour Act of 2006, the term” “w”rk”r” “refers to any individual, including an apprentice, who is employed in any establishment or industry, either directly or through a contractor, to perform any skilled, unqualified, manual, technical, commercially promotional, or clerical hire or reward work, regardless of whether the terms of employment are stated explicitly or implicitly. However, this term excludes individuals who are primarily engaged in managerial or clerical work. Any employee can demand his rights if hampered before the Labour Court and any person is abiding by the decisions of the Labour Court, can be seen in the case of James Finlay & Co. Ltd Vs. Chairman Second Labour Court, 1980, 9 CLC (AD) where the Labour Court held that the application was maintainable and ordered the reinstatement of the employee concerned. Again, after this decision, the appellant company moved to the High Court of Bangladesh under Article 102 of the Constitution. The appellant company did not succeed before the High Court Division.
The 2006 Labour Act states the daily and weekly basis of working hours along with the overtime hours and their payment. The daily working hours shall be 8 hours, with an interval as per section 108. Then, weekly working hours shall be 48 hours up to 10 hours per day, 60 hours per week, and, on average, 56 hours per week. There’s a limitation for Women Workers: no shift from 10.00 pm to 06.00 am without the wowomaworker’sonsent. It is to be mentioned that double employment is not allowed for any worker.
Wages include salary, any bonus, or remuneration for overtime or any other remuneration payable in the course of employment. The wage is employee, but under the Labour Act 2006, wages were not fixed. Rather, it set procedures for fixing the minimum wage rate. The maximum wag period is one month.
According to the Labour Law, an employee’s salary must be paid before the end of the seventh day, after the last day, when the wage is payable. This also applies if an employee has been terminated by retirement or by removal, dismissal, or reduction by the employer. Wages have to be paid in legal tender or through cheque and, in some cases, through an electronic transfer in favor of the bank account of the worker or through any other digital medium. It is to be mentioned that no deduction can be made from the wages except for the reasons mentioned under section 125 of the Labour Act.
Section 195 of the following Act gives some restrictions upon employers, which are the rights of an employee. Under this section, any discrimination against any person in regard to any employment, promotion, condition of employment, or working condition on the grounds that such person is or is not a member or officer of any trade union.
Also, any employee has a fundamental right to take leave. There are many k nds of leave for sickness,, maternity leave, annual leave,, and others, under the following Act.
Employees have a right to a safe workplace, and to ensure workplace safety, the following Act instructs employers to examine the machinery regularly. Section 75 of the Act 2006 provides the provisions regarding safety in the eyes of the workers. It also prohibits workers from engaging in duties where the fumes are likely to be inflammable without precautions.
Also, the Labour Act 2006 ensures some special provisions regarding health issues as well as safety for the employees under Chapter VII, sections 79-88. According to this chapter, the workers should be notified of such operations that are hazardous and harmful to their health. In terms of women, workers are prohibited from working near machinery, which is dangerous. The government can make rules to secure the safety of persons employed in a factory or industrial establishment.
In the above discussion, we have seen the employees ‘ of wages, security, and others. Still, since early March 2020, the number of coronavirus cases has continued to increase, and employees also have the right to a healthy and safe workplace. Every workplace and industry should determine the guidelines for safety and control of the transmission and impact of COVID-19.
Also, the provision to keep the workplace clean and safe states section 51 of the Labour Act, 2006, that every establishment must be kept clean and free from effluvia arising from any drain, privy, or any other nuisance. In particular, it can be said that dirt is to be removed by sweeping the floors, workrooms, staircases, and passages of the establishment on a daily basis. Thus, by keeping the workplace clean, the transmission of COVID-19 can be stopped.
There are some other provisions also which can ensure the safety of the employees as section 56 of the following Act prohibits overcrowding and states that” “n” workroom in any establishment shall be overcrowded to an extent detrimental to the health of the workers employed there”n. “Then, Section 116 states that all workers are entitled to sick leave with full wages for 14 days.
These two weeks are also the time taken to detect whether someone has, in fact, contracted Covid-19 and is mild. Thus, it can be said that these provisions are the rights of each employee during this pandemic, and if any contravention results in such loss of life, the punishment can be up to four years of imprisonment and a fine of up to Taka one lakh. Therefore, if an employer fails to uphold these safeguards, they would be liable to fines or imprisonment.
The employees also have some rights at the time of termination that the employer cannot fire or discipline for his misconduct unless the charges brought against him are reported in writing and a copy of the accusation shall be given to him with a duration of at least seven days to explain along with the chance to be heard. In the case of M . Sadek Ali Vs. Government of Bangladesh and Others Writ Petition No. 7903 of 2011, the General Manager of the Mills terminated the worker from service. In so doing, they did not serve him any prior notice or give him an opportunity to be heard in any manner. The court held that the writ petition does not appear to be maintainable and considered the Management of Crescent Jute Mills Ltd. to make the proper decision.
Suppose an employer has continuously employed a worker for at least a year. In that case, the employer may retrench them from the operation of any institution on retirement grounds. In this case, the employer must give the month’s written notice outlining the reasons for the reduction or pay them a salary for the notice period in lieu of the notice. If the employer does not fulfill these conditions, the employee can go before the court to demand his rights.
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From the discussion above, it can be concluded that while the Labour Act does a good job of protecting rights, some of its procedures are quite weak. For exait dodoesn’nsn’t’tndicate what happens if an employee experiences sexual harassment at work. However, it is said that the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 is a strong piece of legislation that covers the majority of international standards. Workers continue to face serious conditions without effective enforcement of it. Here are fatal problems in the enforcement of the existing labor laws. Also, it has been proved that the law is inadequate in addressing the needs of the workers to a large extent. Thus, to ensure equal rights, the government shall monitor industries and other workplaces.
Read this article to learn about family law.