Bangladesh ranks among the top 10 worst countries in the world where labour rights are not guaranteed according to The Global Rights Index-2022, launched by International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on Tuesday.
It pointed out regressive laws, obstacles to unionism and police violence as the worst situation in Bangladesh.
However, manufacturers of Bangladesh denied the report and labelled it as an international conspiracy against Bangladesh to lessen its bargaining power for fair prices.
The report said that 2022 was marked by the use of extreme police brutality to repress strike actions, notably in Bangladesh and India, where workers were killed.
According to the report– Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Eswatini, Guatemala, Myanmar, the Philippines and Turkey accompanied Bangladesh as the world’s ten worst countries for the workers.
Bangladesh's garment industry which employs more than 4.5-million workers was relentlessly obstructed for attempts to form unions, according to the study.
The study also said that the strikes were met with extreme brutality by industrial police who fired live rounds and used batons and tear gas to disperse workers.
Workers were also exposed to mass dismissals and criminal prosecution for exercising their right to peaceful protest, it says, adding that Bangladesh also frustrated the establishment of unions with an extremely burdensome registration process.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Mohammad Hatem, executive president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), termed the report as false.
“The report is a part of an international conspiracy of a group fed by a foreign fund to create an unstable situation here and to create hindrances in the development of the industry of our country,” he added.
He also said that this report is part of a blueprint for those who are running various scams to destabilize the sector by allegedly informing their foreign counterparts of any incident here before raising the issue to the local authorities concerned.
He also said that forming a trade union is not the only solution to protect workers' rights as there is much evidence of ensuring rights and other benefits without unions.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Mohiuddin Rubel, director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said that they usually prioritize the ILO report on labour rights and other related issues.
“Any private or specialized organization can publish any reports like theirs at their will, but we do not think that our position in protecting workers' rights can be so low like the report said,” he added.
He also said that they are implementing everything including amendments to the labour law for the welfare of the workers.
“The report is totally fabricated and there is no chance to accept it.”
“We have been working for several years to ensure fair prices but a vested interest group is publishing such fabricated reports to thwart this effort,” he added.
The main purpose of publishing these reports is to put some pressure on manufacturers and to lessen the bargaining power for fair prices, he added.
“Our factories were still open when everything was closed during the Covid-19-related lockdown and the workers spontaneously came out in support of their owners,” he added.
There are also many competing countries involved in publishing these reports, he alleged.
However, the ninth edition of the index ranks 148 countries in one to five categories against a number of internationally recognized indicators to assess where worker rights are best protected in law and in practice.
The index exposed attacks on the right to strike and the right to establish and join a trade union as well as on the registration of unions, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and restrictions on access to justice.
The index also found 113 countries that excluded workers from their right to establish or join a trade union, up from 106 in 2021 to 113.
Workers were excluded from workplace representation in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Syria and Tunisia.
About 77% of countries denied workers the right to establish and join a trade union.
However, the manufacturers said that they have no objection to responsible trade unions but the context is different in Bangladesh.
The authorities in 74% of countries impeded the registration of unions, up from 59%, while 50 countries exposed workers to physical violence, up from 45 in 2021, including a rise of 35% to 43% of countries in the Asia-Pacific region and 12% to 26% in Europe, the report said.
Moreover, 87% of countries violated the right to strike while four in five countries blocked collective bargaining.
This right is being eroded in the public and private sectors in every region.
The ITUC ranked Bangladesh with 34 other nations, including Cambodia, China, India, Pakistan and Thailand, in the fifth category–“no guarantee of rights”.
"While the legislation may spell out certain rights, workers have effectively no access to these rights and are, therefore, exposed to autocratic regimes and unfair labour practices."
This rating is linked to dysfunctional legislation as a result of any internal conflict or military occupation and has equally limited labour rights as the fifth category.
ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow said: "Workers are on the front line of multiple and extraordinary crises: historic levels of inequality, climate emergency, a pandemic destroying lives and livelihoods, and conflicts with devastating domestic and global impacts."
"The 2022 ITUC Global Rights Index exposed how this instability is being exploited with so many governments and employers attacking workers' rights."
"We must expose the wrongdoing to make governments realize they have to rebuild with a new social contract: jobs, wages, rights, social protection, equality and inclusion," Sharan adds.
