Bangladesh News

The parliament yesterday passed Bangladesh Labour Bill 2006 amid strong protest from the main opposition Awami League (AL) followed by an AL walkout led by its leader Sheikh Hasina.

The main opposition walked out of the House yesterday protesting a parliamentary standing committee report on the bill which did not include a note of dissent of an AL lawmaker and failed to mention a subsequent walkout of the dissenting member of the committee from a meeting.

Abdul Kader Siddiqui of Krishok Sramik Janata League also walked out of the House yesterday protesting the speaker’s attitude. “The record of the note of dissent and the walkout of a member of the standing committee from the meeting must be included in the committee report and we will walk out of the House in protest if you don’t include that before passing the bill,” Kader Siddiqui told the speaker in the House.

Later, the parliament passed the bill without the presence of the main opposition. State Minister for Labour and Employment Aman Ullah Aman placed the bill.

The parliament also passed a bill for establishing Asian University for Women in Chittagong, in absence of the main opposition yesterday.

Denying the allegations brought by the opposition, Speaker Jamir Uddin Sircar told the House that he did not get any written note of dissent. He however said, “If the opposition member had submitted his written note of dissent then it would be included in the committee report.”

Criticising the bill, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Sheikh Hasina told reporters after the walkout, “The government violated the ILO convention in preparing the bill which is absolutely contrary to the labour’s interest.”

“The bill and the report were placed in the House by violating the rules of procedure so we boycotted the session,” she said.

“They (ruling party lawmakers) passed the bill containing 169 pages within a minute,” she added.

Earlier, AL Lawmaker Shahjahan Khan, also a member of the standing committee on labour and employment ministry, alleged that the committee chairman placed the report on the bill excluding his note of dissent and without mentioning his subsequent walkout from a committee meeting.

“It’s a violation of rules of procedure and the government should withdraw the incomplete report on the bill,” he said.

Senior opposition parliamentarian Suranjit Sen Gupta told the speaker in the parliament, “The standing committee is considered a mini parliament. A member staged a walkout and voiced a note of dissent, so it should be part of the committee report but it was dropped from the report.”

“If the report does not come with the note of dissent then we will walk out,” he told the House.

The opposition lawmakers protested the speaker’s ruling and demanded that the bill be sent back for inclusion of the note of dissent.

They told reporters that if the bill is enacted the workers will lose the right to form trade unions. Moreover, the bill does not have any specific direction regarding wages of the workers including garment workers, they said adding that the opposition had proposed 56 amendments to the proposed bill but the standing committee did not incorporate any of them. The opposition termed the bill a ‘black law’.

AKM Jahangir Hossain of AL said, “You (speaker) did not give us three days to read the report, which you cannot do according to the rules.”

Kader Siddiqui of Krishok Sramik Janata League told the speaker, “I don’t know why you don’t want to follow the rules and laws.”

Replying to the opposition lawmakers the speaker said, “I did not get any note of dissent but the aggrieved lawmaker may express his dissent and I will incorporate his note of dissent in the report if he submits a written one.” Law Minister Moudud Ahmed also expressed the same view.

The parliament also passed a bill for establishing Asian University for Women in Chittagong, without any discussion.

Education Minister Dr Osman Farruk placed the bill titled ‘The Asian University for Women Act 2006′. However, it was passed quickly without any discussion in absence of the opposition members.

The new university will provide an opportunity to build professional women leadership in every sector through imparting quality education to underprivileged women of the Asian region.

According to a provision of the bill the university will be established at Pahartali in Chittagong.