At a recent bilateral meeting the US conveyed to Bangladesh that supporting workers’ rights, including freedom of association and collective bargaining, is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration.
The United States and Bangladesh had convened the seventh meeting of the United States-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) Council.
America emphasised the importance of combating violence against workers and union organisers, as well as anti-union discrimination and other unfair labour practices.
The US noted the ongoing review of potential amendments to the Bangladesh Labour Act (BLA) and encouraged Bangladesh to extend freedom of association and collective bargaining to Bangladesh’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and the Export Processing Zones (EPZs).
Bangladesh was also recognised for its efforts address hurdles, workers face when registering unions, and stressed the importance of ensuring a simplified and impartial trade union registration process that allows for applications to be registered within the legal timeframe.
Additionally, Bangladesh was urged to dedicate more resources to labour inspections and enforcement.
The South Asian country was also applauded for removing the long-standing cotton fumigation requirement for U.S. cotton exports.
US urges Bangladesh to undertake labour reforms
