bangladesh – german development cooperation progress’ component on social and environmental...

Bangladesh – German Development Cooperation

PROGRESS’ Component on Social and Environmental Compliance, implemented by GFA Consulting Group1

PROGRESS (promotion of social, environmental and production standards in the ready-made garment sector) is a joint program of the Bangladesh

Ministry of Commerce and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by GTZ.

Address: House 10 C, Road 90, Gulshan 2, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh. Tel: +880 2 9887567, Fax: + 88028823099, E-mail: [email protected],1 Website: www.gtz.de

Social Standards



• Child & Young Workers• Forced Labour• Non-Discrimination• Harassment & Abuse

Topics Covered



Child & Young Workers



15 years, in developing countries may be 14 if agreed by ILO (a member whose economy and educational facilities are insufficiently developed);

13 years, can do light work if not harmful to education or development;

The minimum age for hazardous work is 18 (16 under certain strict conditions);

Note: Bangladesh did not ratify Convention No. 138.

Child means a person who has not

attained the age of 14 years.

A child will not be allowed to work or to

be employed in any establishment.

As per provision of this chapter no parents or guardian of any child can give any sort of permission for the purpose of employment of the child under his/her custody.

Definition of Child Labour as per ILO Convention No. 138 (Minimum Age for Admission to Employment)

Definition of Child Labour

Child Workers

Section 35 of BLL”06

Section 34 (1) of BLL’06

Section 2(63) of BLL’06



A child who has completed twelve years of age, may be employed in such light work as not to endanger his health and development or interfere with his education.

If a school going child is employed in an establishment, the working hour should be arranged in a way that does not hamper his/her school attendance

Exception of Child Labour as per ILO Convention 138

13 years, can do light work if not harmful to education or development.

Exception of Child Labour

Child Workers

Section 44 of BLL’06



Definition of a Young Worker

Young worker means a worker who has

completed 14 years but has not completed 18 years of age.

No young worker shall be employed unless: The employer has a certificate of fitness

from a registered medical practitioner for a young worker;

The young worker carries a token which gives reference to such certificate while he/she is at work.

Though there is no specific ILO Convention on young worker, the definition of young worker is embedded in other Conventions (i.e., Convention No. 6 on Night Work of young persons employed in industries, above 16 and below 18).

Young Workers

There is no ILO Convention on Young Workers

Section 2(8) of BLL’06




Working Hours

No young worker can work in a factory:- for more than 5 hours a day and 30

hours a week - between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Restrictions Employment of the young persons are strictly restricted for: - Cleaning of machinery while it is in motion;

- Lubrication or for other adjustment operation of the machinery while it is

in motion;

- Any work in-between the moving parts of

a machine; - Any work underground or under water.

Note: Young workers are not allowed to

engage in hazardous, unsafe or unhealthy works.

Young Workers




Child & Young Workers

- Recruitment of child labour;- No remediation policy on child labour;- Young workers work as an adult;- No maintenance of records required for

young workers, i.e. no certificate of fitness, no token, no separate leave or working hours register etc.

Examples of non-compliance



Forced Labour



This fundamental convention prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labour, which is defined as "all work or service which is extracted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily or for which such work or service is demanded as a means of repayment of debt."

Article 34 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh:

All forms of Forced Labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence and shall be punishable in accordance with the Law.

Definition of Forced Labour as per ILO Convention 29

Bangladesh Constitution

Forced Labour



Abolition of Forced Labour as per ILO Convention 105

This fundamental convention prohibits forced or compulsory labour - as a means of political coercion or education or as punishment for holding or

expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system; as a method of mobilising and using labour for purposes of economic development;

- as a means of labour discipline; - as a punishment for having participated in strikes; and- as a means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination.

Forced Labour



Common requirements of buyers regarding forced labour, as per their Code of Conducts

- Buyers do not want to be associated with any vendor who uses any form of mental or physical coercion;

- Buyers don’t do business with any vendor who utilizes forced labour whether in the form of prison labour, indentured labour, bonded labour or otherwise.

Forced Labour



Forced Labour

- No policy on forced labour;- Restrictions on the use of toilets;- Overtime work not voluntary;- Delayed wages (salary and overtime); - Withholding original documents i.e. passport, ID cards, educational

certificates;- Keep deposit as a condition of employment.




Non-Discrimination



Article 27:

All citizens are equal before Law and are entitled

to equal protection of Law

Article 28:

The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Therefore, discrimination on the grounds of

any of the above issues is prohibited in the

country.

Non-Discrimination as per ILO Conventions

ILO Convention no. 100 – Equal Remuneration

The states shall promote and ensure the application to all workers of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.

ILO Convention no. 111 – Discrimination (Employment and Occupation)

The Convention assigns the states the fundamental aim of promoting equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation.

Discrimination is defined as any distinction, exclusion, or preference based on race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin (or any other motive determined by the State concerned) which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation.

Non-Discrimination

Non-Discrimination as in Constitution of Bangladesh



Non-Discrimination

Gender discrimination is prohibited in determining wage.




Common requirements of buyers regarding discrimination, as per their Code of Conducts

Buyers will not do business with any vendor who discriminates in employment, including hiring, salary, benefits, advancement, discipline, termination or retirement, on the basis of gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, nationality or social or ethnic origin.

Non-Discrimination



- No policy on non-discrimination- Discrimination in respect of religion, sex, race,

caste, disability, political affiliation, union affiliation etc.

Non-Discrimination




Harassment & Abuse



HARASSMENT & ABUSE

All female workers in an establishment shall be treated respectfully no matter whatever the position.

Harassment & Abuse




HARASSMENT & ABUSEHarassment & Abuse

Common requirements of buyers regarding harassment & abuse as per their Code of Conducts

Factory must treat employees with respect and dignity.

No employee shall be subject to any physical, sexual, psychological or verbal harassment and/or abuse.



- No policy on harassment & abuse;

- Female workers harassed by their male co-workers or superiors;

- Workers are punished corporally as disciplinary practices.


Harassment & Abuse



Consequences of child & young labour, forced labour, discrimination, harassment & abuse

Child & young labour:• It deprives children of their right to education• it is an impediment to children‘s and young workers‘ physical and mental

growth• Work with dangerous machinery, the handling of heavy loads, exposure to

hazardous substances and excessive noise, temperature, sound etc. may damage children‘s and young workers‘ health

• High risk of loosing business when child labour is detected• Damage to a country‘s reputation

Forced labour, discrimination, harassment & abuse:• Creates an unhealthy working environment• When workers‘ original documents are retained or their payments

withheld, their freedom of movement is restricted



Consequences of child & young labour, forced labour, discrimination, harassment & abuse (cont.)

Forced labour, discrimination, harassment & abuse:• Silent suffering of those who get discriminated and harassed (especially

female workers) when these practices are tolerated by the management• Economic disadvantages for those who get less pay for the same work• Decrease in motivation and productivity• Decrease in sense of loyalty to the organisation • Sometimes workers may get vindictive and create unrest



Thank You

bangladesh – german development cooperation progress’ component on social and environmental...

Documents

child labour young workers

young worker young worker

young workers section

definition of young

environmental compliance

bll06 slide

night work of young

development bmz