Human Rights monitor
Improving safety at workplace: Role of 'participation committee'
Bikash Kumar Basak
 Many countries around the world have laws that require an employer to set up safety committees comprising workers and employer's representatives who meet together, and discuss and resolve health and safety concerns at the workplace. There is no universal model for describing the activities of this committee, but the following list provides a common set of activities:
1) responds to worker concerns;
2) initiates action on the hazards it recognizes;
3) educates the workers in health and safety;
4) works with worker representatives who are representing workers who have health and safety concerns.
In Bangladesh, the inspectors under the Ministry of Labour and Employment are the sole government body to implement the Occupational Safety and Health(OSH) provisions in different workplaces throughout the country as per the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006. However, it is shocking to know that there are only twenty inspectors to enforce the laws throughout the whole county (the total figure of the inspectors is in fact 80). It is obviously quite impossible for these twenty inspectors to inspect even a small fraction of the most hazardous factories in Bangladesh.
The new Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 includes a provision for the establishment of the “National Council for Industrial Health and Safety”(section 323 of the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006) for monitoring and developing policy on the OSH issues. The council is a tripartite body involving the government, employers and employees. It is headed by the honourable Minister from the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
However, there is no specific provision to set up an OSH committee at workplace level. Yet, the implementation of occupational safety and health provisions at workplace level can be conducted by what is known as the 'Participation Committee'. Section 205 of the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 lays out the structure of the participation committee and section 206 specifies its different functions, one of which is the improvement of OSH. So, until new legislation is enacted setting up OSH committees, the participation committee can serve the purpose at different workplaces of Bangladesh of improving the OSH conditions.
Structure of the Participation Committee: Each employer of an establishment in which fifty or more workers are employed is under a legal obligation to constitute a Participation Committee for his workplace (section 205 (1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006).
The Committee will be formed by-
* the representative of the workers
* the representative of the employers.
The number of representatives of the workers shall not be less than the number of representatives of the employers. The representative of the workers will be nominated by the trade unions in the establishment but if there is no such trade union in the establishment, the representative of the workers shall be chosen from amongst the workers engaged on that particular establishment in a prescribed manner (the type of manner will be defined in the rules though still it has not come in force). In addition, if there is a collective bargaining agent in the establishment, it can also nominate representatives to the committee. In such a case, the number of the representatives nominated by the collective bargaining agent will be one more than the total number of representatives nominated by the other trade unions. Further more, similar type of participation committee may also be formed for a unit within a larger organization where at least fifty workers work as “Unit Participation Committee”.
Functions of the Participation Committee: The Law states that functions of the participation committee shall be to inculcate and develop sense of belonging and workers commitment and in particular-
(i) to endeavour to promote mutual trust, understanding and co-operation between the employer and the workers;
(ii) to ensure application of labour laws;
(iii) to foster a sense of discipline and to improve and maintain safety, occupational health and working condition;
(iv) to encourage vocational training, workers' education and family welfare training;
(v) to adopt measures for improvement of welfare services for the workers and their families;
(vi) to fulfil production target, improve productivity, reduce production cost and wastes and raise quality of products.
As per section 208 of the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 the employer and the registered trade union shall take necessary action to implement the specific recommendations of the participation committee within the period defined by the committee. Where there are any difficulties in implementing those recommendations the employer or the trade union shall inform the committee and make every effort to implement them as early as possible.
Recommendations: As in Bangladesh we don't have the provision to constitute an OSH committee at workplace; we can shift some major obligations relating to occupational health and safety on the participation committee which is required to be formed under the current provision of the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006.
The objective of the participation committee should aim to foster cooperation and consultation between management and workers in identifying, evaluating and controlling hazards at workplaces. It is also an effective channel of communication to exchange ideas to solve problems relating to occupational safety and health. Feedback from workers will greatly assist employers to promote and provide a safe and healthy work environment.
For the better performance, the participation committee, with regards to OSH issues, can include the following tasks in its agenda:
* The committee will be responsible for the health and safety of the workers and must function in close cooperation with the union. The committee should keep members informed about actions planned and/or implemented in the workplace.
* An effective participation committee may improve the morale of workers, particularly when workers see positive changes achieved through the efforts of the committee.
* Another function of a participation committee will be to come to agreement on health and safety policy and its implementation.
* The committee should circulate all the written notices of all meetings, with agendas to all of its members in advance as well as send written reports to workers who have raised concerns.
* The participation committee should take effective steps to establish procedures for reviewing reports of all safety incidents, including injury accidents, illness and deaths so that recommendations can be made in further for appropriate corrective action to prevent recurrence.
* The committee should keep under review the measures taken to ensure the safety and health of workers at the workplace.
* The committee should investigate any matters at the workplace that is considered not safe or a risk to health and which has been brought to the attention of the employer.
Finally, it is very interesting that if the employer does not constitute such a participation committee in his workplace, then it can be taken as a breach of the provisions of law according to section 307 of the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 and can result in 1000 (one thousand) taka fine or up to three months imprisonment or both.
Sultana Razia from Law Desk.
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