Trade unionism in RMG : Unions Should Be Allowed Without Delay
News papers ave reported that the government, factory owners and workers at a meeting Sunday decided in principle to introduce trade unionism in the readymade garment sector to avert rerun of labour unrest. The labour and employment ministry brokered the meeting a day after police opened fire on workers demonstrating against abrupt closure of Nippon Garment at Tongi . A 12-member committee, headed by chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry Israfil Alam, has been assigned to recommend how trade unionism could be introduced effectively in the export-oriented apparel industry to deal with labour issues amicably. ‘The committee comprising representatives from owners, workers and the labour ministry will recommend on allowing trade unions in RMG factories…The body will look into the incidents of labour unrest,’ labour minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain told reporters after the meeting.
Shipping minister Shahjahan Khan, who also attended the Sunday’s meeting at secretariat, said that there was no other alternative to trade unionism in the RMG industries to avert any untoward incidents in the export-oriented apparel sector. ‘We must introduce trade unions in the RMG factories to settle labour issues amicably… Trade union leaders will be responsible for any untoward incidents in the sector once the unions are formed,’ Shahjahan, the labour leader-turned-minister, told the meeting.
‘There is no restriction on formation of trade unions as per ILO convention…We must consider that 80 per cent workers are female here. We should not allow outsiders to do trade unionism in the RMG sector,’ he said. The tripartite meeting elaborated on the possible reasons behind the labour unrest at Tongi and concluded that the owner did not follow the law while closing the factory. State minister for labour Munnuzan Sufian, parliamentary standing committee chairman Israfil Alam, representatives from the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and leaders of Jatiya Sramik League, among others, attended the meeting.
Trade union leaders who attended the meeting said that registered body of workers’ representatives could handle the issue had trade unions been allowed there.
Trade unionism would be beneficial to both owners and workers as both will then find a way out through negotiations if any dispute appears, they believed. Labour leaders and workers’ rights campaigners have been demanding introduction of trade unionism in the sector.They believe that registered trade unions, if allowed in apparel sector, could help narrow the gap between owners and workers and prevent disputes from snowballing into violent outbursts. But apparel industry owners so far had strong reservations about trade unionism, which, they alleged, has a chaotic history and has ruined the jute sector.
We are happy that the government is going to allow trade unions in the garment factories which was not allowed for a long time against the provisions of law.The arguments f owners and their representatives are clearly wrong.In the absence of trade unions, the workers rights were badly dealt and wages could ot rise commensurate with progress of the industry and the owners.Capitalistic profit motive and exploitation were the main motives.Labor un rest can be best handled through law and trade unions.We also urge the labor leaders to be law abiding in future when trade unions will start functioning
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