The New Nation - Internet Edition

THE historic May Day is being observed in Bangladesh as elsewhere over the world today in memory of the workers who gave their lives 122 years ago at Hay Market in Chicago in the United States. Workers' rights in different areas have been established, secured and promoted worldwide ever since. But working people in the world trace their inspiration to that unique struggle by the Chicago workers, which heralded the new age where employers were made to recognise for the first time that their workers are human beings and have basic rights which must be respected and enforced.

In Bangladesh labour laws and regulations do not too poorly serve the country. Trade union practices providing collective bargaining of workers with their employers are 'generally allowed in the industries and services here. Labour courts promote and protect workers' rights and enforce laws. Bangladesh is associated with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and remains committed on the whole to ILO policies. However, trade union practices are in existence in the old industries and services and not in the new ones. But the government is committed to give this facility to this group of industries.

It should be advantageous for workers to put less emphasis on orthodox trade union practices and accept less bindings on employers so that they feel encouraged to expand business activities. This should help maximise employment generation as unemployment is a huge problem. More employment with tolerable income should be a better choice for the country's workforce than little employment and no income from too much of trade unionism. Thus, there is a need for responsible trade unionism in the country. Of course, it does not mean that pressure for better looking after the welfare needs of workers ought not be there when new enterprises graduate into stronger entities and thus, become able to smoothly accommodate reasonable demands from their workers.