Labour Rights
Rights advocates criticise fashion brands for failure to protect labour rights in Bangladesh
The Clean Clothes Campaign urges brands to take swift action
Protect the invisible backbone
It’s high time we ensured basic rights in the informal sector
Will corporations finally be held accountable?
EU’s new law on corporate responsibility a step in the right direction
We wouldn't be worried about US labour policy if we upheld labour rights
If this is the situation with labour rights in the country, we should fear not only the repercussions of the US memorandum, but also potential actions of the European Union.
'China, India can't replace our export market to the US, EU'
M Touhid Hossain, former foreign secretary of Bangladesh, discusses the implications and significance of the recent US labour rights policy with The Daily Star.
You can’t quell workers’ hunger by opening fire on them
Rather than assuage the workers by announcing a respectable wage, the wage board has essentially fuelled workers’ outrage and made a mockery of the wage negotiation process
Labour law must protect right to strike
Latest amendment does not do enough to conform to international labour standards
Tk 25,000 as minimum wage / Don't RMG workers deserve a dignified life?
The workers protesting for a minimum wage of Tk 25,000, but those in power are concocting ways to thwart this mission.
Why is remittance from Saudi Arabia falling?
Government must address use of unauthorised channels and migrants' skills gap
Health issues of RMG workers need attention
Garment workers have received a fair share of attention over the last few years due to their poor working conditions, low wages and benefits, and inadequate facilities at their factories of employment.
Ensuring labour rights can tackle human trafficking
Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent every year on counter trafficking efforts, mostly on investigation and criminal prosecution, raids to "rescue" irregular migrants and sex workers who are thought to be potential victims and trainings to raise awareness among those who might possibly experience or encounter human trafficking.
ITUC report on workers' condition
We would hope that the government would not approach the issue in the usual cavalier manner and dismiss the report offhand. The matter demands to be addressed seriously.
Pave way for unionisation in garments: HRW
Bangladesh government should urgently remove legal and practical obstacles to unionization in garment industries, Human Rights Watch says.
Bangladesh failed at times to control security forces: US
The United States has said the government of Bangladesh took 'limited measures' to investigate and prosecute cases of abuse and killing by security forces. The US, in its 2015 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, claimed authorities failed at times to maintain effective control over security forces.
New Saudi regulations to protect workers’ rights
The Saudi Arabian government announces new labour regulations to protect the workers’ rights by bringing the employers under strict rules including financial fines.
The delusion of Bangladesh's cheap labour
Within no time, this demographic dividend may spell a demographic disaster with teeming multitudes of disillusioned, jobless men and women devoid of high skills needed to survive in an environment of cut-throat competition.
May Day: A day in the life of a restaurant worker
Employees at different hotels and restaurants in Pabna are forced to work 12 to 15 hours a day. And despite this long hours of work, they are poorly paid.
Bangladesh can improve its labour rights, but so can the United States
RECENTLY, the Office of the United States Trade Representatives (USTR) called on the government of Bangladesh to improve on its labour rights, and in particular to allow for increased unionisation before it would consider restoring trade benefits. In Bangladesh, it now seems to be increasingly accepted that unionisation or some worker constituted collective will help to improve workplace standards. Of course, labour advocates have been arguing this for years, but Rana Plaza provides a tragic reminder that unions play a critical role in improving workplace safety and labour rights. Therefore, freedom of association has been a key criteria in Bangladesh's review on trade benefits. This is a welcome development.