Leaders of the country’s readymade garment sector have expressed deep concern over certain provisions in the newly approved Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, particularly those related to trade union formation, calling them ‘imbalanced and impractical.’
They were speaking at a press conference on contemporary issues organised by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association on Tuesday at its office in the capital’s Uttara.
Industry representatives said their earlier recommendations placed before the Tripartite Consultative Committee had not been reflected in the final draft.
BGMEA president Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu said that during TCC discussions, the sector proposed a balanced structure — allowing trade unions to be formed with the consent of at least 50 workers in factories employing between 50 and 500 workers.
‘However, this consensus was later overturned at the advisory council’s meeting, which unilaterally revised the threshold from 20 to 300 workers and categorised factories into five groups,’ he said.
Earlier, on October 23, the council of advisers approved the draft of the labour ordinance at a meeting chaired by interim government chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Responding to a question, Mahmud Hasan Khan said the new provision allowing unions with only 20 workers was unrealistic.
In many industrial areas, there are workers’ messes where more than 100 workers of the same factory live. In such cases, even a house owner could provoke them to form a union, along with jhut traders and other outsiders, he said.
Asked whether the BGMEA had discussed the issue with the interim government earlier, he said they had repeatedly sought an appointment over the past four months but had been unsuccessful.
‘Despite being the primary export earners, contributing $42 billion, the chief adviser did not give us an appointment.’
Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the labour adviser himself had initially proposed the balanced number.
‘He had agreed that a trade union could be formed with the consent of at least 50 workers in factories employing between 50 and 500 workers. We don›t understand why this threshold was later changed without any stakeholder consultation,’ he said.
Citing regional examples, the BGMEA president said that in India, a union can be formed with the consent of at least 10 per cent of workers or 100 workers, whichever is less, while in Pakistan, the requirement is 20 per cent.
During the tripartite meeting, 145 issues were discussed, of which the RMG leaders agreed on 142 points and noted dissent on three: the union threshold, the definition of workers, and the provident fund structure.
He further said that the ordinance’s inclusion of ‘employees/officers’ within the definition of ‘workers’ would blur the boundary between administrative and labour levels in factories.
On the pension scheme, Mahmud Hasan Khan said that the TCC had earlier agreed that factories could choose either the provident fund or the Pragati universal pension scheme, whichever suited their operational framework.
However, the advisory council’s approval deviated from that understanding, allowing workers to participate in both schemes simultaneously.
‘This would compel entrepreneurs to manage two parallel financial systems, creating administrative complications, higher costs, and disorder in fund management,’ he said.
He pointed out that India has only the Employees’ Provident Fund, Pakistan operates a single Social Security Scheme, Vietnam follows a unified National Pension and Insurance System, and Sri Lanka has only the EPF.
Responding to a question about the increased charges at the Chattogram port, the BGMEA president said the sector was not opposed to higher fees if efficiency improved.
‘If port efficiency reaches an optimum level, we have no objection to increased charges. But our port remains one of the most inefficient in Asia, with no visible sign of improvement,’ he said.
BKMEA president Mohammad Hatem added that while there were no geopolitical issues with appointing foreign operators, the business community opposed arbitrary fee hikes.
‘It is misleading to claim that port charges have not increased in 40 years. Due to currency depreciation, users are already paying 30–40 per cent more,’ he said.
‘The port has been making profits since its inception. As a state-run service institution, why is it chasing profit?’ he asked, adding that all stakeholders had opposed the fee hike.
The BGMEA president also urged the government to postpone Bangladesh’s graduation from least developed country status.
‘The country is not yet prepared for LDC graduation. We haven’t signed any PTA, FTA, or EPA,’ he said.
He called for extending Bangladesh’s graduation timeline by at least three years to safeguard competitiveness and ensure a smooth transition.
‘If we can present our case logically at the United Nations, we can convince the global community,’ he said.
Leaders from the packaging and accessories, leather, pharmaceuticals, and other sectors, along with representatives from various chambers, were also present at the briefing.
