Fashion
BKMEA urges Bangladesh govt to change amended labour law
“The revised definition of workers and employees in the Bangladesh Labour Ordinance 2025 has created confusion and does not align with the recommendations of the tripartite consultative committee (TCC),” BKMEA president Mohammed Hatem told a press conference.
Bangladesh trade body BKMEA has urged the government to review provisions of the recently-amended labour law, including the definition of workers and employees, collective bargaining agents and the formation of provident funds.
The new ordinance defines employees as workers, he noted.
He called for a unified facility for provident funds and the universal pension scheme as maintaining both is impractical.
The new ordinance defines employees as workers, he noted. Previously, those engaged in administrative, supervisory or managerial roles were not classified as workers.
Hatem noted that at the TCC meeting, representatives of owners, workers and the government had agreed that employees under a specific labour law provision would not be treated as workers. The amendment, however, is ambiguous and may lead to pressure from international buyers to extend equal benefits to employees as workers, he was cited as saying by domestic media outlets.
The BKMEA president said employees’ benefits are determined by their appointment letters, and including them within the definition of workers would blur the distinction between management and labour, complicating decision-making and factory operations.
Such a move could weaken management structures, disrupt responsibilities and ultimately affect productivity, he added.
He also called for revisions to provisions relating to workers’ provident funds and the universal pension scheme, arguing that maintaining both would be impractical. He urged the government to introduce a single unified facility.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)