Labour law rules will be formulated by May this year, said Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain on Wednesday.

He was addressing a meeting with labour leaders at the ministry’s conference room at Eskaton in Dhaka.

Labour leaders, in the meeting, placed a bunch of recommendations to the government for accommodating those with the proposed rules to implement the Labour Law.

The Labour Law 2006 was amended in 2009, 2010 and 2013, but the rules were yet to be made with a view to implementing the law.

Addressing the meeting, expatriates Khandker Mosharrof Hossain said the draft Labour Law Rule 2015, which is expected to come into effect in May, is not in a final version yet.

‘We will have a meeting with owners and will negotiate with them on the draft rules. Our RMG sector is a reputed name worldwide, mainly due to the contribution of women who consists of 70% of the total labour force. We will sit with owners on May 7 and will negotiate on recommendations, including formation of female units in workplaces,’ he said.

He also said if the government finds any area of conflict from the owners’ part, it will sit with both the owners and workers and will reach a consensus.

After the meeting, Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies assistant executive director Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmmed told journalists that the new rules have some good provisions including formation of locality based safety committee for small workplaces and right to locality based trade unions by agricultural labours.

The meeting was attended among others by Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon, State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque, Lawmaker Israfil Alam, Bangladesh Trade Union Centre president Shahidullah Chowdhury, labour leader Shirin Akhter, and Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad leaders.

Govt ‘refused to accept’ TIB report

State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque on Wednesday said they are partially trashing a report by Transparency International Bangladesh that said Tk 108 crore, out of Tk 127 crore, deposited to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund as aid for the Rana Plaza victims are yet to be disbursed even after around two years of the building collapse in Savar.

‘They said Tk 109 crore aid for Rana Plaza victims are now in Prime Minister’s Relief Fund which is not correct. There is no separate fund for Rana Plaza victims at the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund,’ he said.

He claimed that Tk 29.39 crore was given to the victims from the fund, not Tk 19 crore as claimed by TIB.

He said the fund is generally used to provide victims of various types of disasters with financial assistances.

‘A total of Tk 185 crore was distributed among the affected families and victims from a fund that was raised by the government, owners and buyers and ILO trust fund. Some more disbursement is on pipeline for Rana Plaza victims,’ he said.

Refusing the allegation that many Rana Plaza victims are yet to receive aid, he said the government will take necessary steps if anyone can prove.

TIB in a report on Tuesday said the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund collected from various sources, including donations, about Tk 127 crore for Rana Plaza victims, but about Tk 108 crore of the fund is still remains unutilised.