Updated Bangladesh labour laws: Gaping legal vacuum, lack of political goodwill and repressed rights to protest

As a country on a steady development track primarily attributable to its working class, Bangladesh seems to adopt a consistently harsh regulatory approach against its workers. 2023 has been an active year for amendments of labour laws from multiple angles. However, to the utter dismay of the labour unions and workers of the country, all these reforms have blatantly missed their shot in addressing the concerns of the workers. On the contrary, some of the laws have in fact, created legitimate fears against their critical right to strike and protest. In November 2023, Parliament passed the Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Bill 2023 without the approval of or consultation with the labour unions. The amended law failed to eliminate the gaps that existed in the Labour Act 2006 and its subsequent amendments, leaving the workers and labour unions dissatisfied.

The original article was published on Issue 3, Volume 30, 2023 of International Union Rights journal.

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