How many unions in bangladesh

Police did not inform his family about his whereabouts. On the night of December 22, the police produced the eight labor leaders in court. Because contact with those in detention is limited, details of their detention conditions are patchy. Before the detainees had access to lawyers or were produced in court, the police recorded in Complaint No. On December 23, police called Huda, the journalist, invited him to a news conference, and when he arrived, forced him into a police vehicle, beat him, and drove him around Dhaka until around 4 a.

He was produced in court the following day. Ahmed Jibon also vanished following a detective branch police phone call asking him to meet with them on the morning of December 27, and was untraceable until he was produced in court the following morning.

A leading criminal law expert told Human Rights Watch that these cases are the first time these offenses have been used against garment workers and union organizers. He also said that these are usually triable by a special tribunal, making it harder for regular criminal courts to grant pretrial bail.

According to a leading criminal law expert who spoke with Human Rights Watch, the police violated Bangladesh Supreme Court rulings in their application of the Special Powers Act, where the court clearly held that even where there is damage to private property, the Special Powers Act offenses cannot be used since it does not constitute a security related offense against the state.

Rights groups have repeatedly called for full repeal of the act. Human Rights Watch has documented previous and routine use of this technique. These were filed in Gazipur during the nationwide blockade called by a party alliance led by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

None of them had been accused or previously questioned in relation to those cases. Nine more labor organizers were similarly arrested on February 10, in relation to case from August , accused of obstructing police work, and released on bail on February Police just copied them by changing the names. None of the workers Human Rights Watch was able to interview in a few of these factories and who had resumed work inside these factories said they had seen any freshly replaced machinery or fixtures, or recently damaged machinery or fixtures awaiting repairs.

Local residents said they did not witness any looting or violence. On the contrary, they said the areas were teeming with police, who had put up barricades. Workers told Human Rights Watch that a fire alarm went off that day, and management told workers to leave. Some who tried to return were told they did not need to. The same factory manager alleged in his complaint that some workers turned violent at about a. However, workers told Human Rights Watch that on the evening of December 19, supervisors had instructed at least some of the workers to arrive late the following morning.

By the time these workers arrived, the gates were closed and they were told the factory was indefinitely closed.

In another case, a factory official filed a complaint alleging that at around a. They also alleged that the workers they named colluded with 40 to 50 unknown others and rioted on the street outside the factory, destroying vehicles.

They said this forced the factory to close down for a few days. Factory workers told Human Rights Watch that on December 19, officials announced through loudspeakers that the factory was closing and ordered workers to go home. The workers complied and left and said they saw no evidence of violence on the way out. And despite allegations of extensive damage, the workers who resumed work inside the factory after it re-opened said they did not see any freshly repaired or installed fixtures, or damaged fixtures, or hear about any such damages.

Police Harassment of Labor Activists and Death Threats to BIGUF Leader Starting in mid-December, the Solidarity Center, which works closely with workers and unions, documented instances in which 14 national union federations were either forced by police to shut their offices in Ashulia, Gazipur, and Chittagong, or closed them because of police harassment.

According to BIGUF, one of the policemen also threatened Rashedul Alam Raju, the union federation vice-president, who was not in the room, saying that he would be caught and drowned in drain water.

Human Rights Watch has reported on a recurring pattern of such harassment in the past. Aminul Islam, one of the detainees, told other rights groups that the police had tortured and threatened to kill him. In April , Aminul vanished and was subsequently found murdered with torture marks under circumstances that raise concerns of involvement by Bangladeshi security forces. Till today, the police investigation has failed to find suspects, and officials have not responded to a call by international rights groups and aid donors for an independent investigation.

On 26 September, workers held a rally in Dhaka to protest against the wage, and demand the intervention of the prime minister. No other wage rates have been announced yet, but the minimum wage is crucial because it is a baseline for all other wage levels, covering millions of factory workers. Workers rely on overtime and other supplements to survive. Overtime pay, festival bonus, service benefits and retirement benefits are all determined by the minimum wage.

In some cases, police have refused to record criminal complaints and failed to initiate impartial investigations. In a recent example, the Solidarity Center documented a case in February in which the police failed to register a criminal complaint when a union leader was beaten by a group of people, including some he recognized as employees of another factory owned by the same group.

There are no procedures governing investigation of union-busting and other unfair labor practices by labor authorities. The Rules merely state that labor authorities should dispose of complaints within 30 days, but do not mention due process. Even if authorities find that factories have unfairly dismissed workers for unionizing, they can only file complaints in labor courts, where cases are often delayed. Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe.

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