Institute of Social Welfare and Research

University of Dhaka
An Assignment on “Legal Framework of Industrial Relations in Bangladesh”
Course No: MSS 208
Course Name: Industrial Relations and Labour Laws

Submitted To:
Dr. Md. Ashraful Alam
Associate Professor
ISWR
University of Dhaka

Submitted By:
Md. Ahmed Ali
MSS 2nd Semester
Roll: 120645

Date of Submission: 13/11/2023

Introduction
Industrial Relations (IR) refers to the relationship between an employer and an employee or a trade
union. A healthy connection between employer and employee is required to defend the interests of
both sides of creation. To preserve industrial peace and profitability, the essential parts of any
organization should keep a strategic distance from any dispute with them or settle it as soon as possible.
A good labor policy is essential for establishing excellent industrial relations. The goal of such a plan
should be to ensure the best possible cooperation from the workforce. Every employee should be able
to give his administration, as well as his suggestions and views, to the overall effort. The goals of
effective industrial relations should be the growth and advancement of the industry via equitable tactics
and stability, which add up to worker prosperity happiness, and industrial peace. As a result, industrial
peace results from strong industrial relations. In Bangladesh, the legal framework for industrial
relations is mainly governed by a set of important laws and regulations. These laws and regulations
are designed to define the rights and responsibilities of workers, employers, and trade unions, and to
establish a structure for resolving conflicts and fostering harmonious industrial relations.

Objectives of Industrial Relations

The objectives of industrial relations are:
i. To protect the enthusiasm of employees and management by securing the most elevated amount
of shared understanding and cooperative attitude among each of those areas in the industry
which takes an interest during the time spent creating.
ii. To keep away from modern clashes or strife and create agreeable relations, which are
fundamental factors for the profitability of employees and the advancement of a nation.
iii. To step up the efficiency of full-time work by diminishing iii. the inclination for high turnover
and recurrence of non-attendance.
iv. To nurture the development of an industrial democracy in iv. light of the labor organization in
the sharing of benefits and administrative choices.
v. To dispense with, to an extent which is conceivable and v. practicable, strikes, lockouts, and
gheraos by giving sensible wages, enhanced living and working conditions; specified incidental
advantages.
vi. To step up government control of plants and units which are vi. running at a loss or in which
creations must be managed by people in general.
vii. To improve the financial state of workers in the current vii. administration and political
government.
viii. To restrain practices by the state on modern endeavors with viii. a view to controlling creations
and advancing harmonious industrial relations.
The origins and growth of labor legislation may be attributed mostly to the rise of sought-after
industries in which numerous people, notably women and young adults, are employed under conditions
that are detrimental to their well-being and welfare. From a historical standpoint, labor law has
established several fundamental modern rights in the realm of generation. Meanwhile, it has also
protected such rights.
Actors in the IR System
The idea of industrial relations has a wide significance. The articulation of industrial relations looks at
the relationship that develops out of everyday work as well as the relationship between labor and
administration. At the point when taken in its more extensive sense, it incorporates the connection
between employee and employer throughout running an industry.30 Three main parties are directly
involved in industrial relations:
Employers
Employers have certain rights over employees. They have the privilege to contract and fire them.
Management can likewise influence workers’ interests by practicing their entitlement to migrate, close,
or union the production line or to present industrial changes.
Employees
Employees try to enhance the terms and states of their work. They trade sees with the administration
and voice their grievances. They likewise need to share basic leadership forces of management.
Employees, for the most part, join to shape unions against the management and get bolstered by these
unions.
Government
The government impacts and controls industrial relations through laws, rules, and agreements and in
addition incorporates parties, labor, and tribunal courts.

Legal Framework of Industrial Relations in Bangladesh

1. Constitution of Bangladesh
The preface of the Constitution of Bangladesh, 1972, states that the major point of the state
should be to acknowledge, through the law-based process a communist society, free from
abuse; a general public in which the rule of law, principal human rights, and opportunity,
uniformity and equity, political, monetary and social, will be secured for all citizens. The
Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy revered in the Constitution
should be particularly stated given their pre-eminent significance in coordinating and impacting
the Labor Legislation in the nation.
The Fundamental Rights cover fairness under the watchful eye of the law; restriction of
separation on grounds of religion, race, station, sex, or place of birth; equal opportunities in
issues of open business; insurance of rights with regards to opportunity of get together and
flexibility to frame affiliations; flexibility to hone any calling; assurance of life and individual
freedom and ideals from abuse. The Constitution particularly gives as one of the essential rights
that all types of constrained work are denied and any contradiction of this arrangement should
be an offence culpable as per law. It additionally perceives the opportunity of the relationship
as a fundamental right.
2. The Bangladesh Labor Act, 2006
The National Labor Law Commission was constituted in 1992 in an attempt to modernize labor
laws and to expel vulnerabilities and ambiguities in the current laws. The Commission
encircled a questionnaire and sent it to the diverse partners i.e., the businesses, specialists, CBA
pioneers, and NGOs to get their perspectives and suggestions for altering the labor laws. The
 commission presented a report following two years of its constitution. The Commission held
interviews with delegates of specialists, pioneers, and agents of employers to adequately
include them during the time spent remodeling the labor laws in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh
Labor Act 2006 came into existence along these lines on October 11, 2006.
Before the institution of the Bangladesh Labor Act, 2006 there were plenty of laws concerning
work. These laws were established amid the British and Pakistan administrations and were
observed by many to be insufficient given the predominant financial state of Bangladesh. The
Act started various changes including enhancing well-being and security issues, issuing IDs
(identification cards) and arrangement letters, enhancing access to equity, ensuring consistency
in defining specialists, youth labor, installment of pay, upgrading government-managed Labor
Act, and additional time stipend.
In the field of modern relations, the new Act touched on stipends, and insurance to the
president, general secretary, arranging secretary, and the treasurer of a trade union, who cannot
be exchanged starting with one local and then onto the next without his/her assent.
The law additionally perceives the privilege of the employee in civil aviation and maritime to
shape isolated exchange unions. The procedure to shape an aggregate dealing operator has been
improved and given that the enlistment of an exchange union might be crossed out on the
inability to get 10 for each penny of the aggregate votes in the race. The exchange union league
can fill in as an aggregate bartering operator for a part exchange union when the part exchange
union approves the alliance to do so in its meeting of the official board of trustees. The Act has
additionally fortified the part of the Participation Committee to limit strife, and to accomplish
harmonious relations. The Act has underscored the usage of proposals of the Participation
Committee. The modern question settlement system has been intricately depicted by specifying
time confinement at each stage.
The Bangladesh Labor Act 2006 has been made inappropriate in specific cases, for example,
household specialists. There is likewise no arrangement for holding mollification after serving
notice for strike or lockout which was accessible in the past Industrial Relations Ordinance
(IRO) 1969.
In later years, the International Labor Organization (ILO) Committee of Experts on
Conventions and Recommendations recognized various shortcomings in the Bangladesh Labor
Act 2006 concerning the utilization of the ILO Convention on Freedom of Association and
Protection of the Right to Organize, 1947 (No. 87). In its 2009 report, the Committee noted
with profound lawmakers that the Act did not contain any enhancements in connection to past
enactments and specific respects contained considerably facilitated limitations which kept
running against the arrangements of Convention 87.
The Bangladesh Labor Act, of 2006 unmistakably stated that modern debate is esteemed to
exist where it is raised by the Collective Bargaining Agent or by the business. However, it does
not illuminate the strategy(s) to settle employee-related questions where there is no Collective
Bargaining Agent. In Bangladesh influencing the Collective Bargaining Agent, and Trade
Union is an unquestionable requirement yet if there is no Trade Union then no Collective
Bargaining Agent can be framed and for that reason, an Industrial Dispute cannot be settled.
3. The Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969
The Industrial Relations Ordinance, of 1969, is a piece of legislation in Pakistan that governs
industrial relations and labor-management issues in the country. It was originally promulgated
as an ordinance by the Government of Pakistan and later became part of Pakistan's labor laws.
The primary purpose of this ordinance is to regulate the relationship between employers and
 workers, protect the rights and interests of both parties and promote industrial harmony and
peace. Key provisions of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969, include:

i. Trade Unions: The ordinance provides for the registration and regulation of trade
unions. Workers have the right to form and join trade unions of their choice, subject to
certain conditions and limitations.

ii. Collective Bargaining: It establishes the framework for collective bargaining between
employers and trade unions. Both parties are encouraged to negotiate and settle disputes
through collective bargaining, and the ordinance outlines the procedures for doing so.

iii. Settlement of Disputes: The ordinance sets out procedures for the resolution of
industrial disputes through negotiation, conciliation, and arbitration. It also provides for
the establishment of labor courts and labor appellate tribunals to hear and decide
industrial disputes.

iv. Strikes and Lockouts: The ordinance regulates the conduct of strikes and lockouts, and
it prohibits certain forms of industrial action. It also lays down conditions for the
legality of strikes and lockouts.

v. Unfair Labor Practices: The ordinance prohibits unfair labor practices by employers
and trade unions, ensuring that both parties act in good faith and do not engage in
actions that could disrupt industrial peace.

vi. Employment of Workmen: It addresses issues related to the employment of workmen,

including terms and conditions of employment, termination, and retrenchment.

vii. Termination of Services: The ordinance outlines the conditions and procedures for
terminating the services of workmen, including due process and compensation.

It's important to note that the Industrial Relations Ordinance, of 1969, has been amended and
revised over the years to align with changing labor market conditions and industrial relations
dynamics in Pakistan. The specific provisions and regulations may vary based on these
amendments and any subsequent changes in labor laws.
4. The Trade Unions Ordinance, 1969
The Trade Unions Ordinance, of 1969, is an important piece of legislation in Bangladesh that
governs the registration, management, and regulation of trade unions. It provides the legal
framework for the formation and functioning of trade unions in the country. Below are key
aspects and provisions of the Trade Unions Ordinance, of 1969:

i. Registration of Trade Unions: The ordinance outlines the process for registering trade
unions. To be eligible for registration, a trade union must consist of seven or more
members who are engaged in similar trades, occupations, or industries. Registration is
done with the government's designated authority.
 ii. Rights and Privileges: Registered trade unions enjoy certain legal rights and privileges,
including the ability to sue and be sued on property, and enter into contracts on behalf
of their members. They can also participate in collective bargaining and represent their
members in labor-related matters.

iii. Prohibited Trade Unions: The ordinance prohibits the registration of certain types of
trade unions, including those that promote violence or engage in unlawful activities.
Trade unions that are racially or religiously discriminatory are also not eligible for
registration.

iv. Financial Reporting: Registered trade unions are required to maintain proper financial
records and submit annual financial statements to the government authorities. This is
intended to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of union funds.

v. Democracy and Elections: The ordinance promotes democratic principles within trade
unions. It outlines procedures for conducting elections of trade union officials and their
terms of office. It also allows for the removal and replacement of office bearers through
democratic means.

vi. Membership: Membership in a trade union is typically voluntary, and no one can be
compelled to join or refrain from joining a trade union. Employers are prohibited from
interfering with workers' rights to join or form trade unions.

vii. Industrial Disputes: The ordinance provides a legal framework for trade unions to
engage in negotiations, conciliation, and arbitration to resolve industrial disputes. It
also specifies procedures for strike action, lockouts, and dispute resolution.

viii. Penalties and Offenses: The ordinance outlines penalties for various offenses, such as
making false statements during registration or violating trade union rules. Penalties may
include fines and imprisonment.

ix. Government Authority: The Registrar of Trade Unions, appointed by the government,
plays a key role in overseeing the registration and management of trade unions. The
Registrar has the authority to grant or cancel registrations and address various trade
union matters.

x. Amendments and Updates: The government has the authority to amend or update the
provisions of the Trade Unions Ordinance to address emerging labor-related issues.

The Trade Unions Ordinance, of 1969, aims to provide a legal framework that protects the
rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain while also regulating trade unions'
activities to maintain transparency and prevent misuse of their power. It is an essential piece of
legislation in Bangladesh's industrial relations framework, ensuring that trade unions operate
within the bounds of the law.
Conclusion
The legal framework for industrial relations in Bangladesh is important for employers, workers, and
trade unions to be familiar with the laws to ensure compliance and fair treatment within the workplace.
Additionally, the government periodically amends and updates these laws to address emerging labor
and industrial relations issues. The role of labor and industrial laws is of paramount importance when
the economy of a country depends largely on its industrial sector. Labor laws are important from the
Bangladesh perspective as it is crucial for the industrial development of the country. Labor is an
important part of an industry and as such an industry without labor would be inconceivable.
References
Alam, F. (1983). Industrial dispute laws in Bangladesh: A study in their development perspectives, The
Personnel (Vol. 3).

Article 34, The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

Dhar, N. (2004). Labour and Industrial Laws of Bangladesh (2nd ed.). Dhaka: Remisi Publishers.

Halim, M. A. (2007). The Text Book on Labour and Industrial Law of Bangladesh (1st ed.). Dhaka:
CCB Foundation.

The Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006.