Problems and Prospects of Trade Union in
Bangladesh
1.
Introduction:
Trade Union is the most common figure in a country.
Trade unions are the controller of the labor force of an industry which works
for the betterment of the country’s trade by ensuring the right of the labor
force. The economic importance of trade unions in developing countries is not
commensurate with the size of their membership. The behavior of Bangladeshi
trade unions is characterized by political activism, and momentous strikes,
called Hartal there,
have played a crucial part in most political changes in this country. In
Bangladesh, Almost 100 % of the workers and employees of the public sector are
unionized, while one out of six of the wage earners in the private formal
sector are unionized. The aim of this discussion is to provide a simple
theoretical framework for analyzing this dimension of trade union activity, and
to test its main implication in the case of Bangladesh.
1.1.
Trade Union:
Different scholars have defined a trade union in
different ways. Sydney and Beatrice Webb have defined a trade union as “a continuous
association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the
conditions of their working lives”. A trade union is also called as a labor
union. A labor union is an organization of workers who have banned or unified
together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade
union, through its voluntary; bargains with the employer on behalf of the union
members and collective bargain with the employers. This may include the
negotiation of working conditions like wages, rules, time, job security etc.
the agreements are strictly negotiated by the union leader on behalf of the
whole trade union with the employers. In some cases non member workers also
bargain with the employer.
1.2. Historical
background of Trade Union in Bangladesh:
The
history of Trade union movement in Bangladesh dated back to early 19th
century when modern industrial concept entered into the sub-Indian continent.
Like many other movement, the trade union movement also was similar in India
Bangladesh. The number of trade unions which was 411, increased into 1174 in
1971 after the bloody liberation war and the independence of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Trade Union Kendra (BTUC) which was backed by the socialist party,
it was nationalized after the war of liberation. Awami league got the governing
power and changed the constitutions of trade union. From that very day
political influence was imposed on the trade unions of Bangladesh. Democratic
functions which were backed in the 60’s were changing by the aggression of
ruling party men. Unions were forcibly captured. Political, administrative and
managerial influences make it difficult to work independently for trade unions.
From 1975-1983, 217 factories were privatized. For that reason there was no
influence of trade union on those. But after all systems, outsiders influence
has made alive the trade unions. The jute and cotton sectors, which were
nationalized in 1971, in the wake of the struggle for independence, and then
privatized to some extent in the 1980s, are the most unionized sectors. Unions
are also important in the transport sector and in various services. As
emphasized by Pencavel (1995), among others, unions in developing countries get
their power from their privileged relationship with political parties and in
many cases with the government. The Bangladeshi trade unions are no exception,
and are well known for their lobbying the government rather than acting
vis-à-vis the private sector. The influence of unions goes beyond the standard
reach of industrial relations, and extends to the political arena. All the
political parties, even the smallest ones, exert some control over a trade
union. The three main political parties have their own trade union federation,
which accounts for 64 % of the unionized workers. The unions have played an
active role in most major political events of this country, like the massive
demonstrations (hartals) that brought General Ershad down in 1990, or
those which pushed the democratically elected government of Begum Khaleda Zia
to resign in 1996. According to the World Bank (2001), an average of 21 full
working days was lost annually due to hartals in the 1980s, and an
average of 47 full working days per year in the 1990s. This report estimates
that about 5 % of GDP is lost on average in the 1990s. Since independence of
Bangladesh, no major development took place in the history of labor legislation
till the enactment of the Bangladesh Labor Act, 2006. The Bangladesh Labor Act,
2006 is a major and comprehensive enactment regarding industrial relation
system-- partly as a response to demand of stakeholders for improving
regulatory framework on trade union and partly by demand for codification of
existing labor laws in order to avoid overlapping and inconsistencies. It
brought some significant changes in industrial relation system. However, the
Act has not been able to bring the desired changed due to its in-built
weaknesses, suspension of many labor rights under state of emergency and lack
of institutional capacity to implement the laws. Still in today’s era the trade
union of Bangladesh is captured by the power parties of different interested
arena.
1.3. Causes
of organizing Trade Union:
In
earlier times when industry was on a small scale and the few apprentice and
craftsmen whom the master craftsmen employed usually lived with him, conditions
of employment and any grievances were easily discussed individually or in small
groups and quickly settled. Modern industry is very difficult. It is organized
on a large a scale, and the maintenance of the close direct relation between
employee and employer for the settling of differences is difficult. The status
and security which workers had in earlier communities have gone and in their
place they need the protection of trade unions. Considerably, to answer the
question why trade unions are organized; we have to say that, it is created to
bargain and ensure the status, rights, wages and demands of workers of the
modern world of industry. Thus modern industrial policies are complex due to
the expansion on business; it is very much needed to have a group of people or
volunteers who actively work for the labor negotiations. So it is clear that
trade unions are growing rapidly in an economy because of the expansion of
business and economical growth.
1.4. Objectives
of the study:
Today’s world is globalized. So businesses are also
globalized. For this globalization businesses are expanding rapidly for that
reason the workforce in the industries is increasing hugely. To maintain the
whole work force alone by the management is a very tough job. Trade unions are
the only way to manage, compliant, and control the labor force. Lots of
objectives are there to organize trade unions.
From the workers point of view three important objectives of
trade union today are as follows:
- To defend or improve the wages and
working conditions of workers and to bring about a change in the economic
order.
- To strengthen their (labor)
bargaining power collectively to establish and achieve all their rights.
- To dully protect all other interest
of the workers.
And from the management’s point of view the objectives as
written:
- To reduce the number of negotiation
- To specify work rules,
disagreements and grievances to give the better solution to workers claim.
- To establish the efficient
communication between the employers and management to enforce the predictable
standards.
- To enhance the overall
organizational effectiveness workers can also be sometimes inspired to form and
organize trade union.
In fact, objectives of a trade union are not
defined; rather these are changing according to the need of the economy and
overall industry. When these objectives are not settled then the rivals are
started.
1.5.
Scope
and limitations of the study:
There are huge scopes to work in this field. The
scope & exposure of the paper has been wide ranging. The study, ‘‘Problems
and prospect of Trade Union in Bangladesh” has covered the impact of different
in internal and external factors in the Garments Sector. By preparing this
report it becomes more understandable about the real conditions of Trade Union in
the Bangladesh.
There are also some limitations were faced during
the preparation of the report. These are:
1.
Limited access into factories
2.
Difficulties to communicate with
factory owners
3.
Time constraint
4.
Unwillingness of Company owner
& other respondent to disclose their identities
2.
Methodology
of the study:
2.1.
Sources
of Data:
Here we used data from two sources. These sources are,
a.
Primary Source:
Ø Face
to face conversation with the owner of the garments, workers, labor union
leaders and staff.
Ø Survey through Questionnaire
b. Secondary Source:
Ø Different
books and articles
Ø Evidence
from newspapers
3. Present Scenario of Trade Union in
Bangladesh:
Compared to the total labor force in the country,
the number of trade union members is very small. From 1,160 trade unions with a
membership of 450,606 in 1971 trade unions had risen
|
Categories
|
Total
number of unions/federations
|
Number
of unions included
|
Number
of members
|
|
National federation
|
32
|
1,264
|
1,263,665
|
|
Industrial federation
|
108
|
721
|
640,221
|
|
Garments federation
|
15
|
80
|
50,149
|
|
Basic union
|
5,242
|
-
|
2,069,614
|
to
6,835 with a membership of 1,904,567 in 2004. The average membership of trade
unions has declined significantly. Trade union density is 1.12 per cent of the
total labor force. The presence of trade unions in the private export-oriented
sectors such as RMG, EPZs, shrimp exporting firms, finished leather and leather
goods is very weak. For instance, although there are more than 40 unions
representing garments workers, the level of unionization among workers is very
poor. Most trade unions in the RMG sector operate outside the factories and
therefore lack active participation of the general workers. A combination of
factors such as lack of enforcement of labor laws, inhibiting legal provisions,
and system of contract labor are responsible for reduced trade union membership
in these sectors. The workers belonging to government sectors, educational institutions,
health sector, private security services, confidential staffs, workers in
security printing press, ordinance factory, are still deprived from the right
to organize and do not have the freedom of collective bargaining. Trade
unionism in sectors such as nursing or rural electrification is banned.
Government and private owners also discourage trade unions in cement factories,
re-rolling mills etc. Furthermore, trade union leaders and members are
frequently intimidated and harassed by employers and security forces.
3.1.
Prospects
of Trade Union in Bangladesh:
Every association has impacts in
management. Trade union has both positive and negative impacts on management.
These positives impacts are given below.
- Trade union plays a major role in
creating ideal working conditions. It creates pressure on management to do a
favorable roster for workers.
- Trade
union always helps management to create better policies for workers and to plan
effective production targets.
- Labors
are treated fairly, only then they will maintain the working standard. Trade
unions negotiate for the standard wage and benefits with the management.
- Trade
union helps the management to make working environment more active which
increases the productivity as well as the profit.
- Political
influence’s existence makes the trade union not to interfere in management
decisions.
3.2.
Problems of Trade Union in Bangladesh:
There are also some negative impacts. These impacts
are given below.
- Trade
unions creating more positions by the permission of management and appointing
more than need of workers. It’s creating a surplus of manpower but not of
productivity.
- Trade
union of Bangladesh bargains more than they understand because of the limitations
of their knowledge. So it becomes difficult to make any decision by consulting
with the TU. If don’t consult then they strike.
- Trade
union is legal and it has the right to discuss with the management. That is why
TU think about its power. When they think they have equal power of management
then clashes are started.
- In
companies labors are awarded for good work and threatened for bad work. But if
its punished then trade union interfere and don’t let to happen the punishment.
So it increases crime of the labors.
- Trade
union leaders always try to save their interest first then the labor. And it is
always communicated that management body did the wrong. So this unethical
performance creates conflict between TU and managerial body.
4.1.
Recommendations:
In the
context of the world industry, Bangladesh is very younger. So it should follow
some measurements in order to increase its stability of economy. In the light
of Japanese and western trade union concept, some suggestion or steps can be
defined to improve and establish the real trade union culture in Bangladesh.
These steps must be taken in both public and private sectors. These are as follows:
1. Strengthening bilateral collective
bargaining for solving problems quickly and effectively
2.
Multiplicity
of trade union creates the rivals in a union. So it must be reduced.
3.
Political
involvement must be reduced. A trade union without the control of politics only
can be the way of all solution of the problems of management and worker.
4.
Organization
must support financially as trade unions support the worker, it will change the
motives of worker and will be more productive for company.
5.
Workers
are less knowledgeable, so training programs under trade union should be
helpful to develop the skills of the workers.
6.
Trade
union’s function should be increased and widened throughout the organization.
It will help workers to work voluntarily for organizational growth.
7.
Union
leader must be given importance and encourage him many ways to play positive
role in the union as his power implications.
8.
Trust
is a big asset of an organization. If trust between workers and management
increases, productivity increases. This is the job of an effective trade union.
9.
Management
must help and guide trade unions to settle industrial clashes and crisis. It is
trade union who has control over the workers. It helps totally to stop strikes
and rivals of workers.
10. The demand of trade union matters a
lot to the economy. If demands are reasonable and real then it should be worked
out. But if it is not, then a strike breaks out. So trade unions always should
demand reasonable thing to the management.
4.2. Conclusion:
The
industrial relation system is pre-dominantly confrontational in nature rather
than cooperative in Bangladesh. It is characterized by the pre-dominant
position of informal economy, fragmented unions, weak labor institutions, lack
of enforcement of labor laws and conflict ridden employer-employee
relations. Although in recent times the
rate of unionization has increased in the RMG sector, trade union affiliation
is low in Bangladesh compared to many other developing countries. The main
reasons for this are the fall in employment in previously highly organized
sectors, rise of the service sector and increasing flexible types of employment
relationships. The promotion of independent trade unions and collective
bargaining can contribute to political and social stability and consequently create
more favorable climate for foreign investment. Several studies of the World
Bank and ILO support the view that freedom of association and collective
bargaining contribute to improving economic and trade performance and have
found no negative correlation. Rather, highly coordinated bargaining
accompanied by higher rates of unionization can contribute to positive economic
trends. Trade unions have an important role to play in settling disputes
between workers and management over wages by way of collective bargaining.
However, empirical data show that the experience is far from satisfactory.
