Workers deprived of benefits of special laws as employers buy time

Workers are deprived of special benefits of labour laws as employers buy time from the High Court (HC) against any order of the labour court, delaying the justice for unspecified period which poor labourers don’t afford to continue with court proceedings.

Despite stipulation of time the suffering of the workers is going up, they are not getting justice even after waiting for years, resulting in piling up of the cases in 10 labour courts in the country to 15 thousands, according to experts.

The Labour Appeal Tribunal, headed by a retired judge of the High Court, is equivalent to the High Court. Despite this, the owners appeal to the High Court against the order of the appellate tribunal. The High Court has become an additional forum for workers. For such various reasons, the experts opine that the workers are being deprived of the special benefits of the labour law.

The number of cases pending for more than five years is also going up the weakness of the labour law and complexities of the cases. Sub-section (12) of section 218 of the Labour Act states, “Judgment, decision or award of a labour court must be handed within 60 days from the date of filing the case.” Sub-section (13) states, “Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-section (12), if it is not possible to deliver judgment, decision or award within the prescribed time limit of 60 days, the court may record the appropriate reason and extend that time to 90 days.”

The same time limit has been given in the case of Labour Appeal Tribunal. As per the law it should take five months at best to settle a case in the labour court but it lingers even for years.

When approached about the delay in justice on May Day, Advocate Rafiqul Islam Khan, Secretary of the Labour Court Lawyers Society, told that the labour law is a special law, it has been done in the special interest of the workers. However, the civil provisions of law also apply to labour courts. As a result, the parties to the case take advantage of the delay in disposal of cases. Apart from that, the labor court cannot complete the case within the stipulated time.

He added that a retired High Court judge was appointed as the chairman of the Labour Appeal Tribunal. However, the parties aggrieved by the order of the Labor Court or the Labor Appeal Tribunal, choose the High Court as the Court of Appeal. Thus justice delivery lands in the process of procrastination, delaying in the disposal of the case in the labor court. “I have seen for myself that the plaintiff in the case could not be found due to delays,” the lawyer said, citing personal experience.

Kamrul Hasan, Secretary of the Ekta Garments Workers Federation, said labour laws were not working for employees. In fact, the workers are getting frustrated due to the protracted nature of the justice delivery system.An official of the labour court said that the administrative officers in the labour court are appointed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the appointment of judges is also at the hands of the law ministry.

The law also empowers the chairman of the Labour Appeal Tribunal to control the officers and employees of the Labor Court and the Labor Appeal Tribunal. This has created a kind of dual rule. Apart from this, there is no necessary manpower and no provision for promotion. The Ministry of Labour is aware of the Labor Court and the Appellate Tribunal. It is important to pay attention to these issues for the welfare of the workers, the official added.

/wi/teb