How do we protect workers’ rights in the age of 4IR?
The Covid pandemic can be considered an acid test for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The work-from-home and remote office culture have evolved due to the pandemic. In some cases, the technological advancement in Bangladesh has also shifted the workplace from offices to home or third spaces, resulting in an increased number of home-based and "floating" workers. The virtual and hybrid nature of communication is supporting this transformation; call centres, agent banking, app-based ride-sharing and delivery service, and marketing through social media are the most significant examples of that. Already, the effects of "casualisation" and "externalisation" have created an increasing number of part-time and contractual workers.
These workers neither have a fixed workplace like an office, nor are they covered by labour laws or other legal instruments. Therefore, it is not clear how they could be organised or how trade unions could make collective bargaining possible for them with a view to place their demands to the employers. In such cases, it is assumed that organising workers and bargaining for them by the trade unions may be challenged.
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David Peetz, in his book titled The Realities and Futures of Work, argues that as more people are becoming "freelancers" or "gig workers," the traditional employment relationship is being severely challenged, and it becomes difficult for the workers to act collectively because they do not have a common employer. Ride-sharing and home delivery workers may face difficulties if their company is shut down or goes bankrupt. For example, workers of a number of e-commerce companies in Bangladesh had such a bitter experience during the early years of the pandemic.
More than 80 percent of workers in Bangladesh, mostly informal, are not covered by the labour law; they are thus not eligible to form a trade union in the first place. Moreover, as per the labour law, it will not be possible for them to form a trade union unless 30 percent of the workers join the union. Introduction of robots may lead to job loss and salary reduction of the existing workers. Considering this vulnerability, it is more difficult to form unions for the future workers who remain scattered and unorganised.
Already, the labour laws that we have inherited from the British and Pakistani regimes are more active in protecting the interests of the employers and factory owners, rather than securing workers' rights. In some cases, politicisation has created many divisions within trade unions, resulting in slow and sometimes no progress in the collective movement for workers' rights. In these circumstances, 4IR may create significant challenges for the trade union movement.
Struggling to survive in a competitive job market of digital automation can bring extra stress for workers, which can also lead to negative workplace behaviour and a toxic workplace environment. All these situations can create additional challenges for the workers, and detract them from paying attention to the trade union, and realising their rights.
Trade union movement in Bangladesh has not yet developed a clear understanding of the changes coming through 4IR. Therefore, they have not yet been able to prepare for its challenges and opportunities.
To adapt to this situation, it will require training, research, scholarly efforts, knowledge-sharing and above all government patronage for a strategic mitigation plan, with a view to prevent redundancy of workers and erosion of a healthy work environment.
Youth leaders have the possibility to play a perfect role in future unionisation. They need to be brought into training, workshop and study circles. National and international trade union federations can play a vital role in this regard.
The rise of automation has made women workers most vulnerable. A recent study on rice mill workers in Sherpur district found that the number of women workers had decreased by 20 percent since most of the rice mills there were automated. Automation in harvesting as well as fish, meat and other food-processing industries may face the same effect. In the case of big industries like RMG, the effect may occur more slowly. However, instead of laying off these workers, relocation to other sections and providing on-the-job training may reduce the retrenchment and redundancy of women workers.
Time-befitting reform of the labour law is also a must to address these challenges posed by 4IR. The last revision of the labour law is still lagging behind in terms of this demand. The government has planned to develop 100 economic zones within a period of 15 years. It is expected that 10 million jobs will be created through them. But the concern is that there is a separate labour law for EPZs, named the EPZ Labour Act, 2019. The question is: how can inclusiveness be possible if there are two types of labour laws for workers in the same country? The EPZ Labour Act has made trade unions illegal, which violates the ILO Convention No 87 and 98.
Harmonious relations at the workplace are also needed to keep pace with the progress. Apart from trade unions, the roles of government and employers are also necessary to ensure effective dialogues. Political parties need to add a pro-trade union approach and long-range strategic plan to their election manifestos.
The question is: if the cost per hour of a robot is cheaper than that of a worker, how will the large number of people find opportunities to contribute to the country's industrial growth? The answer is: workers may suffer from income reduction, leading to job loss. To get out of this situation, trade unions have to find their own way to protect the workers. Trade unions must move away from bargaining strategies that are focused on traditional employment, and must adapt their strategies to the new forms of work.
Md Yousuf Al-Mamun is a columnist and deputy director of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS).
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