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Bangladesh is one of the 10 worst countries in the world for the working people and that means there is no guarantee of rights in this country, according to a rights index.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on Tuesday released the Global Rights Index (GRI) 2022, based on data from April 2021 to March 2022.
According to that, the other nine worst countries are Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Eswatini, Guatemala, Myanmar, the Philippines and Turkey. All of them were given a rating of 5, which means there is no guarantee of rights.
The index claimed that the workers’ rights in Bangladesh are continuing to be severely curtailed with regressive laws, obstacles to union formation and brutal repression of strikes.
Workers in Bangladesh have been also exposed to mass dismissals and criminal prosecution for exercising their right to peaceful protest. The authorities also frustrated the establishment of unions by imposing an extremely burdensome registration process, it added.
However, government officials and industry insiders claim that they always support the workers’ rights. Some of them even rejected the GRI findings and called it propaganda by the competitor countries.
Talking to The Business Post, Department of Labour (DoL) Director General Khaled Mamun Chowdhury said, “The Bangladesh government is always working to protect the workers’ rights. Although some isolated incidents occur, these cannot be the only examples.”
“However, we are also working to protect the workers from such kind of isolated incidents,” he claimed.
The Asia-Pacific region is the second-worst region in the world for workers’ rights as it saw a significant increase in countries where workers faced violence, rising from 35 per cent of countries in 2021 to 43 per cent in 2022, according to the GRI.
The region’s average rating has also increased from 4.17 to 4.22, falling between systematic violations of rights and no guarantee of rights, it added.
This year, so far, has been marked by the use of extreme police brutality to repress strike actions, notably in Bangladesh and India, where striking workers were killed, and in Pakistan, where violence was used against workers, it said.
The index said that 87 per cent of the countries violated the right to strike, 79 per cent violated the right to collective bargaining, 77 per cent excluded workers from the right to establish or join a trade union, and 66 per cent of countries’ workers had no or restricted access to justice.
It also claimed that 74 per cent of the countries impeded the registration of unions while workers experienced violence in 50 countries around the world.
Industry leaders reject study
In Bangladesh’s garment sector, which employs more than 4.5 million workers, attempts at forming unions were relentlessly obstructed while strikes were met with extreme brutality by the industrial police, who fired live rounds and used batons and tear gas to disperse workers, according to IUTC.
At least six workers were shot and killed by the police during strikes while many others were gravely injured, it added. An apparel sector leader, requesting anonymity, said, “This report is part of a conspiracy to devalue Bangladesh’s reputation in the global market. Some so-called labour leaders are involved in this.
“I urge the government to find them and investigate.”
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association Executive President Mohammad Hatem stressed that they are giving protection of worker rights high priority.
“We strongly reject this study because we are faithful to our workers and every factory welcomes trade union formations,” he claimed.
According to GRI, trade unionists were killed in 13 countries — Bangladesh, Colombia, Ecuador, Eswatini, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Iraq, Italy, Lesotho, Myanmar, the Philippines and South Africa.
It also mentioned the names of two companies in Bangladesh — Crossline Factory (PVT) Ltd and Crossline Knit Fabrics Ltd — that are allegedly violating workers’ rights.
In the GRI, ITUC also referenced a number of incidents that either violated the labour rights, workers faced police brutality, or even workers dying and getting injured after police opening fire during strikes.
DoL chief Khaled Mamun Chowdhury claimed that Bangladesh is committed to implementing the International Labour Rights conventions, and for this reason, the country supports the workers’ right to form trade unions.
