Tag Archives: Trade Unions

April 25, 2018 marked the fifth year anniversary of the collapse of Rana Plaza. The entire nation and the world commemorated the tragic day on which the commercial building, which housed three separate garments factories, collapsed in less than 30 seconds, resulting in the untimely death of over 1,100 workers.

There is an indication that a sizable share of RMG enterprises are likely to be situated at a level where they could either survive or they could become ‘uncompetitive’.

Under pressure from the international community and rights groups, the government has finally agreed to ease the requirements for forming trade unions at factories in the next amendment of the labour law. At present, signatures of at least 30 percent of the workers in the factory are needed to form a trade union -- an uphill task for union leaders. Furthermore, many workers do not want to participate in the election process of trade unions out of fear of getting sacked.

Some news highlights relevant to RMG sector: State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque mentioned that the RMG workers who were dismissed in Ashulia incident will be taken back by their employers, their arrears will be paid and the Apparel Workers Summit will be scheduled at a later date.