Law Opinion
Savar tragedy: Towards compliance and compensation
Savar tragedy which claimed more than one thousands lives and where still hundreds are missing- sent a shock wave across the nation and around the world. It remains worst man- made disaster in Bangladesh symbolising near absent of compliance with the existing laws of the land in garments industry. The Savar tragedy is not the first occurrence of such kind; rather it is the latest of the series of such disasters that underline the whole spectrum of the garments industry, which is often characterised as risky enterprise with cheap labour and minimal compliance. The Savar tragedy is the consequence of corporate greed, lawlessness and moral bankruptcy of the politicians. The tragedy reminds us sheer ignorance of the profit mongers of compliance with laws from violation of building construction law to environmental law to labour laws.
On the other hand it also demonstrates that providing impunity of perpetrators of previous such disasters can create the problem of free riders. It must be remembered that our laws are not deficient in respect of ensuring welfare and protection of labours. But there is a serious deficiency in terms of implementation of labour laws by the owners and government. Lack of compliance only promotes free riders to violate laws. The Savar tragedy reveals that despite constitutional prohibition of forced labour, it still persists in many garments factory, which is the main source of earning of foreign exchange. Article 34 of the Constitution prohibits all forms of forced labour in Bangladesh. The Constitution of Bangladesh is also committed to social justice as article 20 proclaims everyone shall be paid for his work on the basis of the principle “from each according to his abilities to each according to his work” and human labour in every form shall become a fuller expression of the human personality. Perhaps no other constitution in the world so eloquently proclaims dignity of the workers. Yet ground reality is that workers, especially in garments industries, are subjected to degrading working conditions and low wages that only diminish the constitutional value of social justice.
The government machinery for the implementation of labour laws is very weak as they are ill equipped to deal with more than four thousand garments industries. The office of chief inspection of labour has no adequate manpower to inspect the large number of garment industries. The workers organizations such as trade unions and workers federations are also weak in terms of collective bargaining to realize their legitimate demands. So many restrictions are imposed on formation and registration of trade unions in garments and other sectors in Bangladesh. As a result, in Bangladesh, only four percent workers of total labour force are unionized. Trade Unions are considered as main vehicle to protect workers' rights, to air their collective grievances, settle industrial disputes and avoid confrontation in the streets. Lack of presence of trade unions effectively inhibits workers to realize their rights about their safety, security and wages. There is no viable alternative to credible and representative trade union to promote the rights of the workers.
The existing labour law also makes provision for participation committee in industries in order to inculcate and develop a sense of belonging and workers' commitment and in particular - to endeavour to promote mutual trust, understanding and cooperation between the employer and the workers; and to ensure application of labour laws. But the participation committees are largely absent in industrial establishments only to undermine harmonious industrial relationship. Another important mechanism for the protection of workers' rights is the practice of dialogue of what is commonly called social dialogue. Social dialogue is a dialogue between government, employers and workers to minimize conflict situations and establish harmony between employers and workers, sound industrial relations and improve productivity. But social dialogue is hardly practiced at the industry level in Bangladesh.
All the stakeholders – government, employers, buyers, workers and trade unions must work together to ensure the protection of the rights of the workers and decent condition of work where human dignity can be upheld and decent working environment can be created. The Savar tragedy just tells us that it is the cumulative failure of the state agencies in involved in various levels to put the things in right track. Time is now ripe to ensure full compliance with regulatory provisions for the safety, security and welfare of the workers, who deserve to live a life with human dignity. A permanent compensation fund should be created to provide compensation and rehabilitate the victims of potential disasters or accidents of catastrophic scale such as the collapse of Rana Plaza. Multi-stakeholders initiative becomes imperative for creating such fund where government, employers and buyers should contribute. A strong body comprising of representatives from government, employers, workers and buyers can be created to administer such fund in transparent and effective manner.
The writer is a Professor & Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Chittagong.
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