Collective Bargaining in Bangladesh: Rhetoric and Reality

This chapter analyzes collective bargaining, which has long been used as an instrument to raise and realize the collective interests of the workers by negotiation between workers and employers, and to serve as a formal channel for dispute resolution. Agreements reached through collective bargaining are seen as key regulatory mechanisms that influence the outcomes of labor and social policy. The onslaught of economic globalization coupled with the growing significance of transnational systems of collective bargaining based on international solidarity and networking has reduced the powers and authority of national systems of collective bargaining. The existing labor laws of Bangladesh have some enabling provisions to facilitate collective bargaining at the enterprise level in order to improve the rights and welfare of workers. However, collective bargaining is not widely practiced due to various constraints, including its limited scope, as there is no legal provision for collective bargaining on a sectoral and national level. Additionally, the weak bargaining capacity of trade unions, government interference in the collective bargaining process and its poor coverage remain the main challenges to effective collective bargaining practice in Bangladesh.