Bangladesh among top worst countries for workers’ rights

Bangladesh is among the top 10 worst countries in the world for workers as "they are exposed to autocratic regimes and unfair labour practices due to inaccessibility to rights".

"At least 35 union leaders and workers' rights advocates were detained in the weeks (December, 2016) following the strike and criminal complaints were filed against over 1,000 workers. By early January 2017, more than 1,600 workers had been suspended," the ITUC Global Rights Index 2017 report said.     

According to the report published on June 13, 2017, trade unionists in Bangladesh have long suffered at the hands of the state, especially its "notorious industrial police", and employers, which continued in 2017.

ITUC report marked Bangladesh and over a dozen of countries with a rating of 5 meaning there is no guarantee of rights for workers here.

The other worst countries for workers are: Qatar, UAE, Egypt, The Philippines, Colombia, Kazakhstan, South Korea and Turkey, according to ITUC report.

With a primary mission to promote and defend workers' rights and interests, through international cooperation between trade unions, global campaigning and advocacy within the major global institutions, Brussels-based The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is the global voice of the world's working people.

"Only about 10 per cent of Bangladesh's more than 4,500 garment factories have registered unions, as the labour law requires an unreasonably high 30 per cent of workers to agree to form a union and mandates excessive registration procedures, while the government has vaguely defined powers to cancel a union's registration. Factory managers also threaten and attack unions and their members with impunity," the report said.