Although the proposals for workers' rights are evident in the report by the Labour Reform Commission, actual implementation is not yet possible.
It will still take more time and depend on a separate set of recommendations from the commission. On the other hand, workers' unions argue that the fate of workers depends on the goodwill of the government.
During the current administration, workers have been killed by joint forces while protesting for unpaid wages, including a worker who was shot dead by police while demanding fair wages. As such, rights proposed on paper are not enough—they must be enforced.
Syed Sultan Uddin, head of the Labour Reform Commission, told Bangla Tribune: “Our primary recommendation is to ensure legal protection for all workers, determine a minimum wage, and bring workers under social protection schemes.”
He added that their number one recommendation is to legally guarantee the basic entitlements of workers. To implement this, necessary amendments and associated matters must be addressed.
Regarding the determination of minimum wage, he said: “We have suggested that standards should be set based on ILO guidelines, reviewed annually, and revised every three years.”
On the topic of universal social protection, Sultan Uddin said: “We recommended that such protection must exist. If a worker loses employment, they should receive support.”
When asked whether these reforms would swiftly improve workers' lives, he replied: “We’ll develop another framework to implement the reform proposals. We will list the measures the government can implement right now and outline how to do so.”
Asked how much the recommendation to declare a national minimum wage would improve workers’ lives, Joly Talukder, general secretary of the Garment Workers Trade Union Centre, told Bangla Tribune: “Even after major movements, recommendations have not been implemented. Implementing such proposals is difficult. Workers played a significant role in the transitional government that followed the mass uprising. We thought the government would seriously consider workers’ issues. They had said they would review wages, but that commitment remains only in words. If these issues only exist in writing and are not implemented, there will be no rapid progress.
"Still, the fact that these demands are included in the commission's recommendations is important—we can point to them during future struggles and say: these were our demands, and even the commission included them.”
When asked if the government is implementing the recommendations quickly, given that the commission was formed by the current administration, Joly said: “I believe that if the government were sincere, it could have implemented these even before the recommendations came out. This government also came to power through struggle. It could have removed the laws that have repeatedly harassed workers. The minimum wage revision could have been done beforehand. If these had been implemented, workers could have said—this government is better than the previous one.
"But workers have been killed by police and joint forces for demanding wages during both governments. All governments seem to view workers the same way. We've always had to fight to change this mindset, and we're still fighting.”
When asked if workers will get anything different beyond existing laws and regulations, she said: “Many of the commission's proposals were based on demands we have long fought for. We’ve been making these demands since the anti-autocracy movement of the '90s, thinking that whoever comes to power afterward would implement them.
"But time and again, we see they’re never implemented. The rights we’ve achieved have always come through struggle.”
She also felt that the issue of workers’ children's education should have been more clearly addressed in the report. “Like jute mill workers have designated schools, similar institutions are needed for other workers,” she said.
The commission has proposed building a workers’ information database, but she warned that employers must not use that data to blacklist workers.
“Workers must be kept safe. There are many other concerns. If the Labour Reform Commission’s recommendations remain only as proposals, workers will not benefit,” she said.
After the July movement last year, the Awami League government was overthrown on August 5, and a transitional government was formed on August 8.
According to workers’ organizations, workers played a major role in that movement. Hence, they have high expectations from this government.
After coming to power, the interim government began reforms in several areas. As part of that, the Labour Reform Commission was formed.
Aimed at workers' rights, harmonious industrial relations, and inclusive development, the commission has outlined a transformation roadmap for the labour sector. The report was submitted to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on April 21.
However, the commission notes that another detailed framework must be prepared to specify which recommendations can realistically be implemented under the current government.
