Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act, 2018

(2) It shall come into force at once.

(a) after clause (2), the following new clause (2a) shall be inserted, namely:— “(2a) ‘Festival Bonus’ means the festival bonus payable to workers employed in any factory or establishment prior to their respective religious festivals, as determined by rules;”; (b) in clause (10), the words and comma “, and it shall be in addition to any compensation, wages in lieu of notice, or benefits payable by the employer to the worker upon termination of employment under this Act” shall be omitted; (c) in clause (34), after the words “leave with wages”, the words “and other benefits” shall be inserted; (d) for clause (35a), the following clause (35a) shall be substituted, namely:— “(35a) ‘Trained in First Aid’ means any person who possesses a certificate of experience in first aid issued by a registered medical practitioner;”; (e) for clause (47), the following clause (47) shall be substituted, namely:— “(47) ‘Chief Inspector’, ‘Additional Chief Inspector’, ‘Joint Chief Inspector’, ‘Deputy Chief Inspector’, ‘Assistant Chief Inspector’, and ‘Labour Inspector’ mean any person appointed to the said posts under Chapter XX;”; (f) for clause (48), the following clause (48) shall be substituted, namely:— “(48) ‘Director General’, ‘Additional Director General’, ‘Director’, ‘Deputy Director’, ‘Assistant Director’, and ‘Labour Officer’ mean any person appointed to the said posts under Chapter XX;”; (g) in sub-clause (b) of clause (61), for the word “seafaring”, the word “seagoing” shall be substituted.

“Provided that, notwithstanding anything contained in this sub-section, the existing retirement benefits along with other applicable benefits for tea industry workers shall continue to apply.”.

“88. Restrictions on employment of disabled workers in certain cases.—No disabled worker shall be employed in hazardous machinery or risky work.”.

(a) the word “or” occurring after clause (b) shall be omitted; (b) the existing colon in clause (c) shall be replaced by a semicolon, and thereafter the word “or” and the following new clause (d) shall be inserted, namely:— “(d) if a female worker has delivered a child prior to giving notice to the employer, she shall be granted leave for the entire period, including maternity welfare benefits for the period following delivery, upon submission of proof of delivery within the next 3 (three) working days, and shall be permitted to remain absent for up to eight weeks after delivery.”; (c) the existing full stop in the proviso shall be replaced by a colon, and thereafter the following further proviso shall be added, namely:— “Further proviso that if a female worker suffers a miscarriage before the scheduled date of commencement of maternity welfare leave, she shall not be entitled to any maternity welfare benefits, but may avail leave on health grounds if necessary.”.

“93. Meal rooms, etc.—(1) In every establishment where generally more than 25 (twenty-five) workers are employed, the employer shall provide and maintain a sufficient number of suitable meal rooms with arrangements for drinking water, where workers may eat meals brought by them and rest: Provided that any canteen maintained under Section 92 shall be deemed to be part of the arrangements required under this sub-section: Further proviso that in any establishment where a meal room exists, workers shall not be permitted to eat any meal while sitting in their workplace. (2) Meal rooms shall be kept adequately lighted, well-ventilated, clean, and at a tolerable temperature.”.

“(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (1) and (2), if a central fund is established by the Government under sub-section (3) of Section 232 for the fully export-oriented industrial sector or the fully export-oriented industrial sector with 100% foreign investment, as well as other industrial sectors, it shall not be necessary to provide group insurance for workers in such sectors, and in such cases, an amount equivalent to the group insurance shall be paid from the said fund to the workers: Provided that 50% (fifty percent) of the central fund shall be utilised for payment in lieu of group insurance, and the remaining 50% (fifty percent) shall be used for the welfare of workers.”.

(a) for clause (a), the following clause (a) shall be substituted, namely:— “(a) shall be entitled to one day’s leave per week in the case of factories and industries, and one and a half days’ leave per week in the case of shops and establishments;”; (b) in clause (b), the words “and no deduction shall be made from his wages for such leave” shall be omitted.

“Provided that if workers so desire, they may, in consultation with the collective bargaining agent or participation committee, work on a weekly holiday and subsequently combine such weekly holiday with festival holidays, and in such cases, no overtime allowance shall be payable for work done on the weekly holiday.”.

“(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply to workers paid on piece-rate basis.”.

“(3) A worker may be required to work on a festival holiday, provided that for such work, he shall be granted one day’s alternative leave and two days’ compensatory wages.”. Here is the accurate English translation of the provided Bangla legal text from the *Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act, 2018*: ---

“**131. Payment of unpaid wages of deceased or missing workers.**—(1) Subject to the other provisions of this Chapter, if any amount payable to a worker as wages cannot be paid due to his death or his being untraceable— (a) the same shall be paid to the person nominated by the concerned worker in accordance with the rules, or to the legal heir or heirs of the deceased worker; or (b) if there is no such nominated person or heir, or if it is not possible to pay the same to such nominated person or heir for any reason within the next 12 (twelve) months, the payable amount shall be deposited in the ‘Workers’ Welfare Foundation Fund’ of the Bangladesh Workers’ Welfare Foundation. (2) If the nominated person or heir of the concerned worker is not found within 10 (ten) years from the date of deposit of the amount in the ‘Workers’ Welfare Foundation Fund’, the deposited amount shall be deemed to be the own fund of the Bangladesh Workers’ Welfare Foundation.” ---

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“(b) in case of permanent total disablement, the amount specified in the third column of the Fifth Schedule.” ---

(a) for sub-clause (3) of clause (a) of sub-section (2), the following sub-clause (3) shall be substituted, namely:— “(3) the names, fathers’ and mothers’ names, ages, addresses, occupations, and posts of the office-bearers of the trade union, and in the case of workers employed in the informal sector, identity cards of the establishment with photographs or national identity cards or birth registration certificates;”; (b) sub-section (3) shall be omitted. ---

(a) in sub-section (1)— (i) for clause (c), the following clause (c) shall be substituted, namely:— “(c) the procedure for a worker to become a member of a trade union and the declaration of membership in the prescribed form;”; (ii) the existing semicolon at the end of clause (d) shall be replaced by a colon, and thereafter the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:— “Provided that in case of collection of funds from any domestic or foreign source other than the union subscription, the same shall be intimated to the Government;”; (b) in sub-section (2), for the word “ত্রিশভাগ”, the word “বিশভাগ” shall be substituted. ---

(a) in sub-section (1), for the words “শ্রম পরিচালক”, the word “মহাপরিচালক” and for the word “ঘাট”, the word “পঞ্চান্ন” shall be substituted; (b) in sub-section (2), for the words “শ্রম পরিচালক”, the word “মহাপরিচালক” and for the first “পনর”, the word “বারো” shall be substituted, and after the word “দিবে”, the comma and words “, but if no response is received from the concerned party within the stipulated time, the application may be disposed of by recording” shall be added; (c) in sub-section (8), for the word “ঘাট”, the word “পঞ্চান্ন” shall be substituted; (d) after sub-section (6), the following new sub-section (7) shall be inserted, namely:— “(7) The Government shall, in conformity with the provisions of this section, formulate a Standard Operating Procedure for the disposal of registration applications.” ---

“**188. Trade union registration for affiliation with international organisations in specialised professions in civil aviation establishments.**—Notwithstanding anything contained in this Chapter, persons employed in the professions of pilots, engineers, and cabin crew in civil aviation may form trade unions for affiliation with their respective recognised international organisations.” ---

“(2) The Director-General may refuse to register any such amendment or alteration if it is made in contravention of any provision of this Chapter.” ---

(a) for clause (a), the following clause (a) shall be substituted, namely:— “(a) applies on the basis of a decision adopted in the general meeting of the trade union for cancellation of registration;”; (b) clause (b) shall be omitted. ---

“(2) The Government shall, in conformity with the provisions of this section, formulate a Standard Operating Procedure for conducting investigations into unfair labour practices.” ---

(a) in sub-section (2)— (i) in clause (d), for the word “শক্তি”, the words “বিদ্যুৎ, গ্যাস” and a comma shall be substituted; (ii) in clause (e), for the word “ধর্মঘট”, the words “ধর্মঘটে অংশগ্রহণ” shall be substituted; (b) after sub-section (3), the following new sub-section (4) shall be added, namely:— “(4) The Government shall, in conformity with the provisions of this section, formulate a Standard Operating Procedure for conducting investigations into unfair labour practices.” ---

“**196A. Anti-trade union discrimination.**—(1) If an employer violates the terms of employment of a worker or takes retaliatory action at the workplace during the trade union process by the worker, or while the registration application is pending, or after registration, it shall constitute anti-trade union discrimination on the part of the employer. (2) The Government shall, in conformity with the provisions of this section, formulate a Standard Operating Procedure for conducting investigations into anti-trade union discrimination.” ---

(a) sub-section (22) shall be omitted; (b) in clause (e) of sub-section (24), after the word “পক্ষে”, the words “তাহাদের অনুমতি সাপেক্ষে” shall be inserted. ---

“Provided that members of a non-CBA union may pay subscriptions through receipts.” ---

(a) sub-sections (8) and (5) shall be omitted; (b) for sub-section (6), the following sub-section (6) shall be substituted, namely:— “(6) The workers’ representatives in an establishment where a participation committee is formed shall be elected from among the workers employed therein in the manner prescribed by the rules.”; (c) after sub-section (11), the following new sub-sections (12) and (13) shall be added, namely:— “(12) There shall be no need to form a participation committee in an establishment where a trade union exists. (13) Certified copies of the participation committee’s certificate and other documents may be obtained upon payment of the fee prescribed by the Government.” ---

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“(12) The Labour Court shall deliver its judgment, decision, or decree in every case within 60 (sixty) days from the date of filing the case. (13) [Omitted as it appears to be a typographical error in the original; no corresponding text was provided.]” ---

“(11) The Tribunal shall deliver its judgment within sixty (60) days from the date of filing the appeal. (11A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (11), if it is not possible to deliver the judgment within the prescribed period of sixty (60) days, the Tribunal may, upon recording the reasons therefor, deliver the judgment within the next ninety (90) days.”

(a) the full stop at the end of sub-section (6) shall be replaced by a colon, and thereafter the following proviso shall be added, namely:— “Provided that, in any establishment where there is no collective bargaining agent, the workers’ representative shall be nominated by the participation committee.”; (b) in sub-section (7), for the words and comma “there is no such committee, the workers’ representative shall be the Labour Director”, the words and comma “there is no collective bargaining agent or participation committee, the workers’ representative shall be the Director-General” shall be substituted.

(a) the heading and sub-section (1) shall be replaced by the following heading and sub-section (1), namely:— “291. Penalty for unfair labour practice or anti-trade union discrimination.—(1) Any person who contravenes any provision of section 195 or 196A shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to ten thousand taka, or with both.”; (b) in sub-section (2), for the words “one year”, the words “six months” shall be substituted; (c) in sub-section (3), for the words “two years”, the words “one year” shall be substituted.

(a) in sub-section (1), for the words “one year”, the words “six months” shall be substituted; (b) in sub-section (2), for the words “one year”, the words “six months” shall be substituted.

“388A. Formation of Tripartite Consultative Council.—(1) The Government may form a council named ‘Tripartite Consultative Council’ to provide advice to the Government on matters relating to law, policy, or labour. (2) The composition and functions of the Council shall be determined by the Government.”

(a) for the words “Chief Inspector”, “Deputy Chief Inspector”, “Assistant Chief Inspector”, “Inspector”, and “Assistant Inspector”, the words “Director-General of Inspection”, “Additional Director-General of Inspection”, “Joint Director-General of Inspection”, “Deputy Director-General of Inspection”, “Assistant Director-General of Inspection”, and “Labour Inspector” shall, as the case may be, be substituted; (b) for the words “Labour Director”, “Additional Labour Director”, “Joint Labour Director”, “Deputy Labour Director”, “Assistant Labour Director”, and “Labour Officer”, the words “Director-General”, “Additional Director-General”, “Director”, “Deputy Director”, “Assistant Director”, and “Labour Officer” shall, as the case may be, be substituted.